Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, speaking in Munich in response to questions from France 24, rejected the possibility of granting pardons to former leaders of Artsakh.
He confirmed that U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance raised the issue of Armenian detainees during a visit to Baku, adding that he outlined Baku’s position on the matter and the discussion ended there, Minval.az reports.
“They are leaders of a separatist entity that operated illegally on our territory — the territory of the sovereign Republic of Azerbaijan, recognized by the entire international community, including Armenia.
For many years, these individuals were the inspirers of all military crimes directed against Azerbaijanis and Azerbaijan, and they have been held accountable. They were arrested as a result of our military operation in Karabakh and brought to justice. They were provided with lawyers. The trial was conducted fully transparently. Their crimes were proven by testimony from numerous witnesses. There can be no talk whatsoever of any violations committed against them,” Aliyev said.
Responding to a journalist’s question about the possibility of pardoning the former Artsakh leaders, Aliyev drew a comparison with the Nuremberg trials, stating that they had committed “even worse crimes than the Nazis during World War II.”
Former president of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan has been sentenced to life imprisonment. Former Defense Army commander Levon Mnatsakanyan and former first deputy commander Davit Manukyan, as well as former Foreign Minister of the Republic of Artsakh Davit Babayan and National Assembly Speaker Davit Ishkhanyan, were also sentenced to life imprisonment. Former presidents of the Republic of Artsakh, Arkady Ghukasyan and Bako Sahakyan were sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Madat Babayan and Melikset Pashayan were sentenced to 19 years in prison, Garik Martirosyan to 18 years, Davit Alaverdyan and Levon Balayan to 16 years, and Erik Ghazaryan, Gurgen Stepanyan and Vasily Beglaryan to 15 years in prison.
