The trials of former Armenian separatist leaders in Baku mark a long-overdue moment of accountability for decades of aggression, occupation, and destruction in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. The proceedings in the Baku Military Court are more than a legal exercise – they are a public affirmation of Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over its internationally recognized territory, a sovereignty that Armenia sought to undermine for over 30 years through both overt and covert support for the separatist regime. Courtroom testimonies of the former separatist leaders have reinforced what Azerbaijan has long maintained: Armenia was not a bystander but the architect of the separatist military apparatus that inflicted immense suffering on Azerbaijanis.
The conflict’s origins trace back to Armenia’s irredentist ambitions, which took shape in the late 1980s as the Soviet Union weakened. Backed by Yerevan, ethnic Armenian groups in Karabakh declared secession from Azerbaijan, launching a full-scale war that claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced nearly a million Azerbaijanis from their homes in Karabakh and seven surrounding districts. The Second Karabakh War in 2020 marked a turning point, with Azerbaijan liberating most of its lost lands through military force, followed by the decisive 2023 operation that dismantled the separatist entity entirely. Now, the ongoing trials in Baku – of figures such as Arayik Harutyunyan, Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Davit Babayan, and Levon Mnatsakanyan, accused of war crimes, genocide, and terrorism – are exposing the extent of Armenia’s involvement, dismantling Yerevan’s narrative of mere support for a self-determination movement.
Recent testimonies from detained separatist leaders have been revealing, providing evidence of Armenia’s direct control. Arayik Harutyunyan, the self-styled “president” of the former separatist regime, admitted during his trial that in the summer of 2020, prior to the Second Karabakh War, the training of Karabakh’s separatist forces was overseen by Onik Gasparyan, then Chief of Staff of the Armenia’s Armed Forces. He revealed that orders to strike deep into Azerbaijani territory – targeting civilian areas like Ganja and Barda during the 2020 war, where dozens were killed – issued not from Karabakh, but from Yerevan. Harutyunyan confessed, “The commands were given by the Chief of the Armenian General Staff… We were told to create the impression that these strikes were carried out by Karabakh.” “I had no power over the ‘army’… Armenia was responsible for security matters”, he added. This admission shatters any pretense of the separatist regime’s autonomy, proving that Armenia’s military leadership orchestrated the separatist war effort.
Levon Mnatsakanyan, the former “defense minister” of the separatist regime, corroborated this narrative. He testified that he fought against Azerbaijan under Armenian command, with weapons – tactical, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare equipment – supplied directly by Armenia to the separatist forces. “I participated in the [2020] war against Azerbaijan as part of the Armenian regular army. In addition, we were forbidden to maintain any contact with the army. In particular, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia forbade us to talk to or stay in touch with anyone,” – Mnatsakanyan stated at court. Mnatsakanyan also spoke about the battles of April 2016, noting that Armenia had provided the separatist regime with weaponry. These revelations align with Azerbaijan’s long-standing accusation that Armenia orchestrated an illegal war of aggression, using the separatist regime as a puppet to mask its territorial ambitions.
The trials highlight Armenia’s flagrant violation of international law. The evidence – documents, intercepted communications, and now the separatists’ own words – paints a picture of a systematic campaign funded and directed by the Armenian state. This was no grassroots rebellion but a calculated effort to seize and hold Azerbaijani territory, displacing hundreds of thousands of ethnic Azerbaijanis through violent ethnic cleansing. The destruction of cities like Aghdam and Fuzuli – reduced to ghost towns under Armenian control – and the massacre of civilians in Khojaly in 1992 stand as enduring testaments to this policy of aggression.
The trials also expose Armenia’s internal contradictions and desperation as the 2020 war loomed. Harutyunyan’s testimony revealed that during a June 2020 Security Council meeting in Yerevan, Armenian leaders admitted their military unpreparedness. He stated, “It became clear that Armenia was not ready for war… Azerbaijan’s potential in all areas was many times greater than Armenia’s.” Yet, despite this awareness, Armenia pushed forward, with Pashinyan rejecting Harutyunyan’s plea on October 18, 2020, to write to President Ilham Aliyev to halt the war – a plea supported by co-defendants Bako Sahakyan and Arkadi Ghukasyan. Pashinyan’s refusal, insisting “the war would continue,” underscores the shocking degree of Armenia’s involvement in the occupation of Azerbaijani territories and killing of thousands of people.
The trials aim to ensure that at least some of those who orchestrated this torment – whose orders razed Azerbaijani cities and targeted civilians – face accountability. Azerbaijan hopes these trials and testimonies will compel the international community to acknowledge a long-standing truth: Armenia was not a neutral party but the driving force behind a conflict that devastated countless lives and destroyed 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories. The revelations from Harutyunyan, Mnatsakanyan, and others are not surprises but confirmations of a reality long evident to neutral observers. With each testimony, the myth of an independent “Artsakh Republic” unravels, exposing Armenia’s direct involvement and its responsibility for the bloodshed and destruction inflicted upon Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan sees the trials as a step toward lasting peace, but only if Armenia fully acknowledges its role, apologizes for heinous crimes against the Azerbaijani people, holds the perpetrators accountable and abandons revanchist dreams.
