Arsen Bagdasaryan asks for minimum sentence

At the court session in Azerbaijan, Arsen Bagdasaryan, a soldier of the Nagorno-Karabakh, has delivered his final speech and asked for the minimum penalty.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 27, 2014, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence (MoD) reported about capture of Arsen Bagdasaryan. He was charged with an attempt of murder, an attempt of sabotage, and involvement in a criminal organization. Today, prosecutor demanded to sentence Arsen Bagdasaryan to 18 years of imprisonment.

Ramiz Abdullaev, an advocate of the defendant, has asked the court to exclude from the criminal case the article on illegal carrying of weapons. According to the advocate, Arsen Bagdasaryan has confessed to carrying of weapons, but the criminal case contains no evidence of the above.

In his final speech, Arsen Bagdasaryan has again admitted his guilt and noted he wants to live in peace with Azerbaijan, like 20 years ago.

The verdict is to be announced on May 5, the "APA" reports.

The trial against Arsen Bagdasaryan 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.

"The demand to sentence the prisoner of war to a lengthy term of imprisonment is a primitive response to conviction of Azerbaijani raiders in the territory of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic," the "NEWS.am" quotes Armen Kaprielyan as stating.

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