Former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh are sentenced to life imprisonment in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan has sentenced the Armenian leaders of unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh to life imprisonment after the completion of trials following the military seizure of the enclave. This was reported by the agency Bloomberg.
The verdicts were announced on Thursday, while US Vice President J.D. Vance is preparing to visit Azerbaijan and Armenia to promote a peace agreement between the states after more than 30 years of conflict over the territory.
On February 5, a military court in Baku sentenced the former "president" of Nagorno-Karabakh, Araik Harutyunyan, and former high-ranking officials of the unrecognized republic, David Manukyan, David Ishkhanyan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, and David Babayan, to life imprisonment.
Two other former "presidents," Arkadiy Ghukasyan and Bako Sahakyan, were sentenced to 20 years in prison, as local law prohibits life imprisonment for those aged 65 and older. Seven other Armenian defendants received sentences ranging from 15 to 19 years.
The trials began after Azerbaijan established control over Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023, which led to the capitulation of its Armenian authorities.
Officials of the unrecognized republic were convicted on charges such as preparation and conduct of an aggressive war, violation of the laws of war, terrorism, and the forcible seizure and retention of power. Armenia and the defendants call the prosecution politically motivated.
A separate trial is underway for Ruben Vardanyan, a former Moscow investment banker who served as a state minister in Nagorno-Karabakh and was detained while trying to flee to Armenia.
The fate of the prisoners could complicate efforts to reach a final deal after U.S. President Donald Trump in August, hosted the Armenian Prime Minister at the White House Nicola Pashinyan and the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyeva to sign a preliminary agreement.
This month, Vance is scheduled to visit Baku and Yerevan to develop the US partnership with the two countries, particularly on a transportation corridor connecting Azerbaijan with its exclave of Nakhchivan through Armenia and on to Turkey.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a long-running confrontation between Armenia and Azerbaijan over a region internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but with a predominantly Armenian population. It dates back to the late 1980s, during the collapse of the USSR, and has repeatedly escalated into an armed phase. The largest-scale hostilities took place in the 1990s, in 2020, and in 2023. The conflict was accompanied by population displacement, human losses, and the involvement of international mediators.
As of the end of 2023, the active phase of the conflict ended with the establishment of Azerbaijan's full control over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, after which the majority of the Armenian population of the region left, and the issue of its future status moved to the political and diplomatic plane.
- Declaration of Peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia was signed in August 2025 with Trump's mediation in Washington. It provides for the opening of transport corridors and strengthening of mutual economic integration.
- In early November 2025, Armenia resumed transit rail transportation for the first time since 1991 through Azerbaijan.
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