Who are the Karabakh leaders in Azerbaijani custody

By Ani Avetisyan

Following Nagorno-Karabakh’s surrender to Azerbaijan on September 22, which resulted in the complete ethnic cleansing of the  120,000 Armenians in the region, Azerbaijan began arresting current and former Karabakh officials.

Baku had initially  pledged amnesty to Nagorno-Karabakh officials and former military personnel, except those who were guilty of war crimes.  

But despite these promises there are 300 Karabakh Armenians in Baku’s wanted list, some of whom have already been arrested.

Former Karabakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan

The first to be arrested was Russian-Armenian businessman and philanthropist and the former State Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh Ruben Vardanyan. Vardanyan was reportedly captured on September 27 by Azerbaijani security forces near the Lachin corridor while attempting to cross into Armenia along with other Armenian refugees. 

Former Karabakh Foreign Minister Davit Babayan

A day after, on September 28, the former foreign minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, Davit Babayan, wrote on Facebook that he is going to turn himself in to Azerbaijani forces in Shushi. He noted that he is aware that his name is on Baku’s wanted list. Azerbaijan later confirmed the arrest. 

Karabakh Presidents

The region’s most recent president Arayik Harutyunyan, as well as former presidents, Bako Sahakyan and Arkady Ghukasyan, were arrested and taken to Baku days after the region’s surrender. 

Azerbaijani law enforcement and local media published videos and photos of the former presidents in custody. 

Arayik Harutyunyan was elected the region’s president in 2020, serving until his resignation on August 31 and was replaced by Samvel Shahramanyan, who is the only president who managed to leave the region. 

Bako Sahakyan was Nagorno-Karabakh’s president between 2007 and 2020. Arkady Ghukasyan was the second president of the region, serving two terms from 1997 to 2007. 

Other Officials

Azerbaijan’s State Security Service stated on September 29 that it detained Davit Manukyan, a former deputy commander of the region’s armed forces, on "terrorism” charges.

Levon Mnatsakanyan, the former Defence Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, is also among those arrested. He served as minister from 2015 to 2018. 

Davit Ishkhanyan, the former parliamentary speaker of Nagorno-Karbaakh, was also detained.

Baku has not yet announced the charges against the officials. 

Armenia’s Response

The Armenian Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the arrest of Karabakh officials, 

“The Republic of Armenia will take all possible steps to protect the rights of illegally detained representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh, including in international courts”, the statement said, calling for the International community to “be consistent” in their messages and appeals to Azerbaijan regarding the rights and security of Karabakh Armenians. 

Armenia has also applied to the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) to prevent the targeting of ethnic Armenians, noting that Yerevan expects that Baku will "refrain from taking punitive measures against current or former political representatives or military personnel of Nagorno-Karabakh."