David Babayan: Lawyers for Armenian prisoners in Baku have filed a cassation appeal to the Azerbaijani Supreme Court

ArmInfo. David Babayan, former head of the Artsakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), who is currently in Azerbaijani captivity, delivered another address in which he spoke about two important events that have occurred over the past 10-12 days in connection with the trials of Armenian prisoners of war. The audio message was transmitted to NEWS.am through David Babayan's family.

First, he reiterated that this is not just a trial of them, but a trial of the Armenian people, of international law, and of God's commandments. Speaking about the first important event, Babayan said that on the 18th, they were provided with an electronic version of the Court of Appeals' decision. "Naturally, as before, there are no signatures or any official marks there." "Nevertheless, they brought and handed over 47 volumes in total," the former Artsakh Foreign Minister noted.

The second event, according to him, is that their lawyers filed a cassation appeal to the Azerbaijani Supreme Court. "Appeals were filed by the defense attorneys of three individuals; for the others, either they didn't file appeals, or we are not aware of them. Perhaps this is some kind of game, I don't know for what purposes, but nevertheless, these two important events occurred," Babayan noted.

Speaking about the court's decision itself, he stated that it was 99.9% copied from the decisions of the prosecutor's office and the court of first instance and is indistinguishable from them. "This is a copy-paste document, but, unlike previous documents, a slightly different falsification tactic was used here." If the prosecutor's office and the trial court simply lied, attributing to us things we didn't say or completely distorting our words, then here they chose a different option: they censored our testimony, removing important passages, and this is widespread. For example, when we are accused of membership in some criminal group, although they can't clearly define what it is—whether it's Artsakh, Armenia, or the Armenian people as a whole—we present various counterarguments to which they are unable to respond. For example, I have presented several dozen such counterarguments regarding this so-called "criminal group," to which they are unable to respond. One of my counterarguments simply paralyzes them. I ask: if this is a criminal group, then why did your national leader, the father of the current president (Heydar Aliyev - ed.), conduct activities with our Republic, that is, directly contact and officially conduct negotiations, as documented? "This leaves them stunned," the former Artsakh Foreign Minister said.

He noted that all of this was redacted from the appeals court materials. According to Babayan, only his words about such an approach also striking a blow to the legitimacy of their statehood were included there. "They removed the leader's name, simply writing that this strikes a blow to legitimacy. Or, say, I'm accused of massive economic abuses, although I've never been involved in business. I say: you've presented everything as if British Petroleum is my property. Or, say, I'm accused of being a member of some committee from September 1988 to September 28, 1991, which made decisions on war and peace. "Okay, I say this ironically. September 1988 is understandable—I was in 10th grade, so maybe that's the criterion. But why December 28, 1991, and not the 27th or 29th—that's unclear. In other words, this is a document that has undergone low-grade censorship," the former Artsakh Foreign Minister noted.

Babayan then explained that their lawyers had appealed the court decisions to a higher court. He said a fairly well-reasoned complaint had been submitted, for which he expressed gratitude to his lawyer, noting that it identified all the violations of laws and international law. "In this country, such an approach is truly a great act of courage, a manifestation of humanity and professionalism. Now, in essence, their Supreme Court is beginning the review of our complaint, and it's clear what will happen next." "I don't know when they'll hear this case, but I do know how it will end. That is, the same legal, political, and moral violations, the same gross abuses, will occur. But for us, that's not the main thing; the fact that it's passed through this formal authority is important—both for history and for our future steps," the former Artsakh Foreign Minister emphasized.

Furthermore, he said that the Azerbaijani court had not accepted Volume 47 of the appellate court's materials, which consisted of 333 pages. Babayan noted that, in this regard, there should have been a justification for the decision, explaining why all these rulings were being upheld, but none was provided. "But we are not giving up hope; we have no such right, and we will not give up hope; we stand firm." We want to thank all our sisters and brothers who support us—both our patriotic compatriots and our sisters and brothers of other nationalities—and say that what you do is very important. May God bless you all, thank you,” Babayan concluded.

It should be noted that the exact number of Armenian prisoners of war and hostages held in Azerbaijani prisons is still unknown. Experts estimate the number to be several hundred. Today, Azerbaijani authorities confirm the presence of 19 Armenians in their custody. Among those held in Azerbaijani captivity are eight former and current members of the military-political leadership of Artsakh. These include former Artsakh presidents Arkady Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, and Arayik Harutyunyan; former Foreign Minister Davit Babayan; as well as Parliament Speaker Davit Ishkhanyan; former Commander of the Artsakh Defense Army General Levon Mnatsakanyan; General David Manukyan; and former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan.

In February, a Baku puppet court sentenced Arayik Harutyunyan, Davit Babayan, Davit Ishkhanyan, Davit Manukyan, and Levon Mnatsakanyan to life imprisonment on trumped-up charges, and Bako Sahakyan, Arkady Ghukasyan, and Ruben Vardanyan to 20 years in prison. The so-called court sentenced the remaining Artsakh residents to up to 15 years in prison.