Former military and political leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) currently incarcerated in Baku have been handed new charges by Azerbaijani prosecutors.

Former Karabakh Presidents Arayik Harutyunyan, Bako Sahakyan and Arkady Ghukasyan, former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, former presidential advisor David Babayan, former parliament speaker David Ishkhanyan, as well as former army commander Levon Mnatsakanyan and former deputy commander David Manukyan are currently incarcerated in Baku.

The country’s Prosecutor General Kamran Aliyev said they have now been charged with “destruction of historical and cultural monuments” in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Aliyev made the remarks on Tuesday, October 1, adding that the accused have “several attorneys and rights to access the materials,” lecal media report.

Eight Artsakh leaders were taken into custody and indicted after Azerbaijan launched a military offensive in September 2023, forcibly deporting the entire indigenous Armenian population of Karabakh – around 115,000 people in total.

They were charged with “creation and sustenance of an illegal armed group on Azerbaijani territory, terrorism and acquisition and movement of firearms.”