Zatulin: Baku trials are Aliyev’s personal vendetta

PanARMENIAN.Net - Konstantin Zatulin, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs and Relations with Compatriots, commented on the fabricated trial of former Artsakh leaders taking place in Baku, stating that this show trial is a personal vendetta by Azerbaijan’s president.

Zatulin noted that among the 1,389 criminal cases, the accused include his friends, former Artsakh Presidents Arkadi Ghukasyan and Bako Sahakyan. He also mentioned former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, who “renounced Russian citizenship to share the fate of the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh.”

He emphasized that the entire Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh, over 100,000 people, fled their homes, churches, and ancestral graves, seeking refuge in Armenia. According to Zatulin, this was entirely justified given the events unfolding in Baku.

He mentioned that during those days, Turkish TV channels broadcasted the Armenians’ forced exodus from Karabakh non-stop.

“This is a disgrace of the 21st century, echoing—albeit on a smaller scale—the horrors of the Armenian massacres at the start of the 20th century,” Zatulin stressed.

Zatulin also accused Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of doing “nothing to secure their release.”

At the same time, he acknowledged that “this tragedy casts a shadow on Russia, which was deceived in its peacekeeping mission.”

He added that the council of the Russian-Armenian "Lazarev Club" is preparing a statement on the Baku trials.

On January 17, the military court in Baku began hearings on the trials of Artsakh’s captured political and military leaders. Former Presidents Arayik Harutyunyan, Bako Sahakyan, and Arkadi Ghukasyan, former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, high-ranking military officials Levon Mnatsakanyan and Davit Manukyan, and National Assembly Chairman Davit Ishkhanyan face severe charges.

Ruben Vardanyan’s case has been separated from the others. He has already announced that he faces a potential life sentence. In his January 16 statement, he revealed that he has given no testimony other than his name. Vardanyan accused the authorities of falsifying all signed protocols and confirmed that he, his lawyer, and interpreter have been subjected to pressure.