Thirteen Armenian citizens convicted in Baku on sabotage case

A Baku court has found 13 persons captured in the vicinity of Gadrut guilty of crossing the border and illegal arms trafficking; the charge of terrorism was dropped. Each of them was sentenced to six years in prison.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 13, 2020, already after the autumn aggravation of the Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijani militaries captured about 60 Armenian citizens near Gadrut. Some of them were then released, while 40 people were charged with terrorism. On July 3, a court in Baku considered the case of 14 captured persons and acquitted most of them on grave charges, leaving the charge of illegal border crossing. Two of them were sentenced to four years of imprisonment, and other 12 – to six months each, which they have already spent in custody.

On July 22, the Baku Court of Appeal (BCA) has considered the case of 13 other defendants. Each of them was sentenced to six years at a maximum security prison. After serving their terms, they are subject to deportation.

The defendants and their advocate insisted on acquittal, the "Sputnik Azerbaijan" has reported.

The prosecutor himself asked the court to exclude terrorism charges from the indictment. The court found the Armenia citizens guilty of illegal border crossing and illegal arms trafficking, the "Trend" reports.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 22, 2021 at 07:57 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.