Former Karabakh Official Sentenced for Espionage on Behalf of Azerbaijan

YEREVAN — An Armenian court on Friday convicted a former Nagorno-Karabakh official, who did not flee the region right after its capture by Azerbaijan, of spying for Baku and sentenced him to 18 years in prison.

The man, Sargis Galstyan, and his wife were among a few dozen Karabakh Armenians who did not flee to Armenia following Azerbaijan’s September 2023 military offensive that triggered the mass exodus of Karabakh’s population. The couple arrived in Armenia through the Lachin corridor in March.

Galstyan was arrested and charged with espionage the next day. Armenian law-enforcement authorities gave very few details of the accusation brought against him, saying only that he admitted working for Azerbaijani security services during and after the 2020 war in Karabakh.

Galstyan’s lawyer Aleksandr Kochubayev said in June that he has renounced the espionage confession because it was made under duress. Kochubayev claimed that masked interrogators threatened to kill his client and arrest his wife and children if he refuses to incriminate himself.

Armenia’s Investigative Committee flatly denied the claim. According to the lawyer, the law-enforcement agency did not come up with any other evidence of the crime attributed to Galstyan.

Galstyan’s trial took place behind the closed doors. Kochubayev said that he will appeal against the verdict.

Galstyan is a veteran of the 1991-1994 war with Azerbaijan who held various Karabakh leadership positions in the following decades. His decision to stay in Stepanakert fueled speculation that he is collaborating with Azerbaijani authorities.

Galstyan did not publicly explain the decision. It is also not clear why he ultimately decided to leave Karabakh.

Galstyan and his wife were escorted to the Armenian border by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). An ICRC spokeswoman in Yerevan said in April that it has also helped more than 50 other Karabakh Armenians to “voluntarily move to Armenia” since October 2023.