YEREVAN — The offer to cooperate with Azerbaijan during the trial of imprisoned former leaders of Artsakh is yet another bait, according to Artak Beglaryan, former State Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh.
“It is a political demand that could later become a subject of negotiations and an additional political lever against the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people,” Beglaryan stated today. “With this proposal, they are attempting to put Armenia in a position where it would reject the offer, leading the international community to perceive Armenia as obstructive. On the other hand, Azerbaijan is trying to present this as a genuine offer of cooperation, to exchange information, and also to obtain data from the Republic of Armenia,” he continued.
Indictments against eight former Artsakh officials and seven other Armenians have been submitted to the Baku Military Court. They are accused of serious crimes, including genocide, terrorism, organizing the forced displacement of civilians, and other offenses.
Lawyers for former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan have warned that he faces life imprisonment. The cases of other detainees, including three former presidents of Artsakh, remain less clear.
The Azerbaijani Prosecutor’s Office, which has consolidated 1,389 criminal cases against 15 imprisoned Armenians, recently invited Armenian authorities to cooperate, stating, “Most of the persons who are suspects or witnesses in the episodes discussed during the investigation are currently in the territory of the Republic of Armenia.” The Armenian Prosecutor’s Office has not commented on this call.
Anna Melikyan, a legal expert at the “Protection of Rights Without Borders” NGO, dismissed the proposal as a mockery.
“In essence, it is obvious that such a proposal by the Azerbaijani authorities is a formality, especially at this stage, when the criminal case has been completed and has already been sent to court with an indictment. Cooperation primarily involves obtaining evidence at the preliminary investigation stage, questioning witnesses, and so on,” Melikyan emphasized.
Of the imprisoned former officials, only Ruben Vardanyan has a foreign lawyer. Vardanyan’s American attorney, Jared Genser, recently asserted that the Aliyev administration has failed to provide convincing evidence to refute claims of his client being tortured in prison. Speaking to RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani service, Genser raised concerns about the administration’s consistent refusal to grant him access to visit Baku.
According to Beglaryan, not only Vardanyan but also other prisoners are being held under similar harsh conditions.
“Based on my connections with the families of other prisoners, I know that all detainees face the same conditions. This includes limited access to legal counsel, often public defenders. Families receive no documentation about their relatives, are unaware of the charges brought against them, and only have brief, infrequent phone calls, during which the exchange of information is highly restricted. It’s clear that our prisoners are constrained and reluctant to discuss their cases,” Beglaryan explained.
Melikyan added that while the Azerbaijani authorities occasionally release information about high-ranking officials, families of many detainees were initially unaware of their whereabouts.
“We had information about only seven high-ranking officials whose arrests and charges were publicly disclosed relatively quickly. For others, such as Madat Babayan, it took months to confirm his detention and the accusations against him. For many detainees, Azerbaijan has not publicly acknowledged their status or location, and families often establish contact only weeks after initial detainment,” Melikyan noted.
It remains unclear when the trials of former Artsakh officials and other Armenians will begin or whether they will be public. Currently, 23 Armenians are detained in Azerbaijani prisons.
