In Azerbaijan, Court sentences Arsen Bagdasaryan to 15 years in prison

The Ganja Court for Grave Crimes has sentenced Karabakh soldier Arsen Bagdasaryan to 15 years of imprisonment on charges of an attempted murder, an attempted act of sabotage, and involvement in a criminal organization.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 27, 2014, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence (MoD) reported about capturing Arsen Bagdasaryan. He was charged with an attempted murder, an attempted act of sabotage, and involvement in a criminal organization. During the court hearing held on May 4, prosecutor demanded to sentence Arsen Bagdasaryan to 18 years of imprisonment in a high-security penal colony. Arsen Bagdasaryan admitted his guilt and asked to sentence him to the minimum sentence.

In his turn, Ramiz Abdullaev, an advocate of Arsen Bagdasaryan, has asked the court to exclude from the criminal case the charge filed against his client under Article 228 (29, 282.2) (illegal purchase, transfer, selling, storage, transportation or carrying of weapons, its parts, ammunition, explosive substances and explosive devices) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.

The trial against Arsen Bagdasaryan, a citizen of Nagorno-Karabakh, has been politically motivated. This opinion has been voiced by Armen Kaprielyan, the head of the Working Group of the Armenian Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing People.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.