In October 2020, Arajik Harutiunjan was arrested in his absence and put on Azerbaijan’s international wanted list. On Tuesday, he was arrested, according to the security service, and he is accused of instigating a war of aggression and terrorism, reports Reuters.
According to the investigators, Harutiunjan, as the leader of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, “participated in an aggressive war on the territory of Azerbaijan” and is also said to have been involved in the recruitment, training and financing of mercenaries who participated in hostilities against the armed forces of Azerbaijan.
The 49-year-old Harutiunjan was the president and former prime minister of the self-proclaimed breakaway republic. He resigned from his post shortly before the blitzkrieg, and when it became clear that Azerbaijan was taking control of the entire disputed mountain region, it was announced that the autonomy would be dissolved.
Has arrested several top officials
In late September, Azerbaijan said it had arrested several former top officials in Nagorno-Karabakh, including former head of administration Ruben Vardanyan. He is to be held in custody for four months and is accused of financing terrorism, participating in the creation and activities of illegal armed groups and illegally crossing the state border.
According to the Azerbaijani authorities, around 300 separatists are being investigated.
The EU Parliament condemns Azerbaijan
On the same day that the clip was published, the European Parliament condemned Azerbaijan for the “premeditated and unjustified military attack on Nagorno-Karabakh”. The members of parliament said that the current situation amounts to ethnic cleansing and condemned the threats and violence perpetrated by the Azerbaijani troops against the Armenian residents of the area. The parliament also believes that EU countries should impose sanctions on Azerbaijan.
And the Armenian Foreign Ministry has said that the country “will take all possible measures to protect the rights of the illegally arrested representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh, including in international courts,” writes AFP.
Azerbaijan has declared victory in Nagorno-Karabakh and claims full control over the area, which is mainly inhabited by ethnic Armenians. In recent weeks, almost the entire population, over 100,000 people, has fled across the border into Armenia.