Azerbaijan to get legal right to use force amid Armenian  authorities`silence over Baku show trials - MP

ArmInfo. The silence of the Armenian authorities against the backdrop of the Baku trial of the former military-political leadership of Artsakh may give Baku the legal right to initiate military action against the Republic of  Armenia.

This opinion was expressed by Tigran Abrahamyan, a member of the  National Assembly of Armenia from the "I have the honor" faction, in  connection with the start of the trial of the current and former  military- political leadership of Artsakh and other hostages held in  Azerbaijan.

He emphasized that the so-called "nail" of the process taking place  in Baku is the declaration of Armenia as "an aggressor and occupier  country carrying out ethnic cleansing."

"In the context of the silence of the Armenian authorities, they will  impose whatever they want on our country," the deputy explained.

In this regard, the oppositionist wondered why the Azerbaijani  authorities today focused their attention on the issue of the rocket  attack on Ganja (which occurred during the 44-day war of 2020) and  obtaining testimony from former Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan  as part of a staged trial. The politician is confident that the  answer is simple: Azerbaijan has set the task of "revealing" the name  of the person who gave the order for the rocket attack on Ganja, in  order to subsequently "pin" it on RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

"It is obvious that they already have this "evidence". The only  question is how they intend to use it against Armenia, and what new  nuances they will add to their blackmail policy," the MP summed up.

Recall that on January 17, under the chairmanship of Judge Zeynal  Agayev, the Baku Military Court began considering the "indictment"  against the former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh. Among the accused are  three former presidents of Nagorno-Karabakh: Arkady Ghukasyan, Bako  Sahakyan and Arayik Harutyunyan. Also appearing before the court will  be former Foreign Minister David Babayan, Parliament Speaker David  Ishkhanyan, former Defense Army Commander General Levon Mnatsakanyan,  General David Manukyan and former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan.

On January 16, Vardanyan made a statement in which he demanded that  he and his lawyer be given the opportunity to fully prepare for their  defense; that all violations and falsifications be eliminated; that  his trial and that of all the other defendants be made public.

"I insist on a maximally open trial with the participation of  international journalists and representatives of humanitarian  organizations. I am convinced that only a real court, not a trial,  will help take a step forward on the difficult path of building new  relations between our peoples," he emphasized.

In conclusion, he demanded that his case be combined with the cases  of the other defendants. "More than 400 volumes of my case out of 422  are episodes of a common case. Separating my case into a separate  proceeding is an artificial and unfounded decision," Vardanyan added.