The former so-called "foreign minister" of the Armenian separatist regime in Karabakh David Babayan has been detained, AzVision.az reports citing the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan.
The Azerbaijani prosecution bodies have initiated criminal cases against members of Armenian armed formations for committing war crimes against peace and humanity and other serious crimes, including crimes against Azerbaijani servicemen in captivity and civilians.
The ongoing investigation has established substantial suspicions that Babayan, born in Khankendi in 1973, who held various positions, including the so-called "deputy head of the presidential administration, presidential assistant on foreign policy, minister of foreign affairs, and presidential assistant on special assignments" within the separatist regime from 2013 to 2023, during the 2020 second Karabakh war and anti-terrorist activities conducted to restore the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and ensure the safety of the population, was involved in promoting nationalism and hatred, and was criminally conspiring with other "leading officials" of the separatist regime to coordinate the activities of separatist terrorist groups.
Besides, substantial suspicions have been established regarding his involvement in organizing strikes on civilian areas in Azerbaijan's Ganja city using ballistic missiles, resulting in the deaths of civilians.
On October 28, 2020, Babayan was prosecuted under Articles 100.1, 100.2 (planning, preparation, initiation, and conduct of aggressive war), 32.3, 114.1 (recruitment of mercenaries, their training, financing, and other material support, as well as organizing their use in armed conflict and hostilities), 32.3, 116.0.1, 32.3, 116.0.6, 32.3, 116.0.7, 32.3, 116.0.8, 32.3, 116.0.9, 32.3, 116.0.10 (violation of the norms of international humanitarian law during armed conflict), 117.2 (inaction or criminal orders during armed conflict), 32.3, 214.2.1, 32.3, 214.2.3, 32.3, 214.2.4 (terrorism) and other articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan, and based on a court decision, a measure of restraint in the form of imprisonment has been chosen against him and he was put on the international wanted list.
On September 29 of this year, Babayan was detained by law enforcement agencies of Azerbaijan, transferred to the investigation, and on the same day, he was charged with the aforementioned articles.
Additionally, substantial suspicions have been identified that Levon Mnatsakanyan, a former serviceman of Armenia, born in the Khojavend district of Azerbaijan in 1965, who served as the so-called "defense minister" of the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" from 2015 to 2018 and was a member of an illegal Armenian armed formation on the territory of Azerbaijan, in collusion with a group of persons, captured Ilham Mammadov and other Azerbaijanis in Alkhanli village of Azerbaijan's Fuzuli district, and engaged in cruel torture against them.
On November 8, 2006, a decision was made to charge Mnatsakanyan under Article 113 (torture) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan, and on November 14 of the same year, he was put on the international wanted list through the National Central Bureau of Interpol with the measure of restraint in the form of detention.
On September 29 of this year, Mnatsakanyan was detained by law enforcement agencies while attempting to cross the Lachin checkpoint in the direction of Armenia, and on the same day, he was charged under the mentioned article.
The court decision on imprisonment of Babayan and Mnatsakanyan has been executed, and they were transferred to the detention center of the State Security Service of Azerbaijan.
Currently, necessary and urgent investigative and operational measures in the criminal cases are ongoing.
Previously, Azerbaijan's court has chosen four-month detention as a preventive measure against Ruben Vardanyan, who held the "position" of the so-called "state minister" of the separatist regime in Karabakh.
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