Appeal Hearing of Armenian Political Prisoners to be Held on June 2 in Baku
On May 26, the Baku Court of Appeal commenced its preliminary hearing on the appeals filed by citizens of the Republic of Armenia – Arayik Harutyunyan, Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Davit Ishkhanyan, David Babayan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, and others. These individuals had been convicted by the Baku Military Court for alleged “crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes resulting from Armenia’s military aggression against Azerbaijan, including the preparation and waging of an aggressive war, genocide, violation of the laws and customs of war, terrorism, financing of terrorism, violent seizure of power, and numerous other offenses.”
During the court session held at the Baku Court of Appeal under the chairmanship of Judge Elmar Rahimov, with the participation of Judges Emin Mehdiyev and Mehriban Garayeva, each person subject to the appellate criminal proceedings was provided with an interpreter in the languages they know—Armenian and Russian—as well as defense attorneys to ensure their right to defense.
The court session was attended by representatives of the victims, prosecutors upholding the state prosecution – Abbas Abbasli, head of the State Prosecution Support Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office, and Anar Alakbarov and Sevinj Gasimova, prosecutors of the same department – as well as Rufat Mammadov, Head of the Administration of the Cabinet of Ministers, participating as “the victim” on behalf of the Azerbaijani state.
During the session, the composition of the court and the interpreters were introduced to the participants of the proceedings, the personal identities and background information of the convicts were verified, and their procedural rights and obligations were explained.
The parties stated that they had no objections or challenges to the composition of the court and the interpreters.
Furthermore, the requirements of the legislation, rights, and duties were explained to the interpreters, and it was verified whether the convicts had any objections to them. The authorities of the defense counsels, the representatives of the victims, and the prosecutors upholding the state prosecution were announced.
In his address, prosecutor Anar Alakbarov, who is upholding the state prosecution, stated that the requirements of criminal procedural legislation were complied with when filing the appeals. He noted that at the current stage, the subject of the preparatory court hearing is the possibility of scheduling the case for an appellate review. The prosecution believes that the procedural conditions established by legislation for initiating appellate proceedings have been met, and the case can be scheduled for trial without requiring additional evidence.
After discussing the positions of the parties and the motions submitted, as well as obtaining the parties’ opinions on the submitted motions, the court retired for deliberation.
Following the deliberation, the adopted decisions were announced, and the criminal case was scheduled for appellate review. It was stated that the court hearing will be held on June 2 without conducting a judicial investigation or examining additional evidence.
According to the verdict of the Baku Military Court dated February 5, 2026, Arayik Harutyunyan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, David Manukyan, Davit Ishkhanyan, and David Babayan were sentenced to life imprisonment. Arkadi Ghukasyan and Bako Sahakyan were sentenced to 20 years, Madat Babayan and Melikset Pashayan to 19 years, Garik Martirosyan to 18 years, Davit Allahverdyan and Levon Balayan to 16 years, and Vasili Beglaryan, Gurgen Stepanyan, and Erik Gazaryan to 15 years of imprisonment.
