BAKU — The Baku Court of Appeals has begun hearing appeals filed by public defenders representing 15 Armenian prisoners convicted by a court of first instance, including former leaders of Artsakh, Azerbaijani media reported.
According to Azerbaijan’s APA news agency, the case is being heard by a panel chaired by Judge Elmar Rahimov.
In February, the Baku Military Court sentenced 16 Armenian prisoners, including Artsakh’s former military and political leadership, to life imprisonment or lengthy prison terms. Azerbaijani authorities accuse them of a number of serious crimes, including crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes, terrorism, forcible seizure of power, and other charges.
Ruben Vardanyan, whose case was heard separately, has refused to appeal the verdict. Attorney Siranush Sahakyan, who represents the interests of the Armenian prisoners, earlier told Azatutyun that Vardanyan did not wish to formally participate in the process, considering it a farce.
The lawyers plan to apply to the European Court of Human Rights over violations of the Armenian prisoners’ rights. According to Sahakyan, this requires Baku to provide the full texts of the verdicts, rather than only excerpts.
