The court in Baku upheld the sentence of Armenian prisoners.

The Baku Appeal Court upheld the sentence of the former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh and other prisoners who received long sentences on charges of war crimes. The decision was expected, but it was necessary to reach the European Court of Human Rights, noted the former speaker of the Nagorno-Karabakh parliament, David Ishkhanian.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on February 17, the Baku Military Court sentenced former state minister of Nagorno-Karabakh Ruben Vardanyan to 20 years in prison, with his case being considered separately. The defendant, who led the Karabakh government for only a few months during the blockade of the Lachin corridor, was found guilty of war crimes. Vardanyan refused to file an appeal, explaining that he does not recognize the verdict as an act of justice. Other prisoners, whose cases were considered separately, also received long sentences. The representative of the Armenian prisoners' interests at the European Court of Human Rights, Siranush Saakyan, reported on July 25 that information was coming in about the poor health of the convicted, including serious injuries that may have been sustained as a result of violence.

Today, an open court session continued in the Baku Appeal Court regarding the appeals of citizens of the Republic of Armenia Araik Harutyunyan, Arkadi Gukasyan, Bako Saakyan, David Ishkhanian, David Babayan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, and others, against whom the Baku Military Court issued a guilty verdict, reports APA.

Representatives of the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan participated in the session as observers, writes "AzerTAj".

The court announced its decision on the appeals of the defendants, and the verdict was left unchanged.

The convicted considered the court's decision expected

Former speaker of the Nagorno-Karabakh parliament David Ishkhanian stated in his message that the decision will be appealed in an international court.

We all understand, we understand that this is a political process

"It is obvious to all of us that this decision was made a long time ago, the judicial panel is merely announcing what has already been decided. Our last speeches were very peculiar, quite dignified performances. Both the prosecutors and the judge intervened shamelessly, interrupting some, including me. They did not allow me to present my speech in full, but for us, this is not a problem, we all understand, we understand that this is a political process," Ishkhanian's words are quoted by News.Am.

The prosecution and the judicial panel, which are the same team, he pointed out. "The judges are guided by the principle of 'we decide everything here,' and do what they want. But for us, this is secondary; we ensure the formal side to reach the international court," Ishkhanian stated.

He also stated that the coverage of the process in Azerbaijani media is presented in a manipulative manner and does not correspond to reality. According to him, the defense has not received either the indictment, the act, or the verdict of the first instance court.