MP: Azerbaijan uses captive trials to target Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijan is using the ongoing trials in Baku as a political tool against Armenia, according to Tigran Abrahamyan, an MP from the "I Have Honor" faction.

In a Facebook post, he noted that during the trials, the prosecution has primarily directed accusations against Armenia, portraying the defendants as mere executors of broader plans.

Abrahamyan argued that from the beginning, Baku’s main objective was not just the 23 Armenian captives but to use their trial to justify new actions against Armenia.

“It was no coincidence that from the first sessions, Azerbaijan highlighted the missile strike on Ganja airport, attributing it to Armenian authorities through fabricated testimonies. The entire process and the final ‘verdict’ will follow this logic—to tighten the noose around Armenia, labeling it as an ‘aggressor’ and ‘occupier,’” he stated.

He warned that Azerbaijan will not stop here. Using the trial’s verdict as a basis, it will take further steps—second, third, fourth—exploiting fabricated facts to serve various objectives.

Abrahamyan also criticized the Armenian government, claiming that while Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s team engages in appeasement and services to Turkey and Azerbaijan, new cases are being built against Armenia.

The indictments in the trials of Artsakh’s military-political leadership and former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan mention Armenia’s former presidents, officials, and even National Hero Monte Melkonian. The prosecutor accused Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sargsyan, Samvel Babayan, Vitaly Balasanyan, Zori Balayan, Seyran Ohanyan, Monte Melkonian, and others of leading an organized military campaign against Azerbaijan, allegedly with the full support and oversight of Armenian authorities and armed forces.