The Cassation Court refused to acquit Jalal Harutyunyan.

The Armenian Court of Cassation has rejected the verdict of former commander of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army, Jalal Harutyunyan, who had demanded an acquittal.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," in January, the Syunik Regional Court of Armenia sentenced former commander of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army, Jalal Harutyunyan, to 5.5 years in prison, finding him guilty of official negligence. In April, Harutyunyan's defense appealed the verdict.

The Armenian Court of Cassation rejected Jalal Harutyunyan's appeal, and thus the verdict entered into force, News.am reported today.

In his cassation appeal, Jalal Harutyunyan demanded that the guilty verdict be overturned and an acquittal issued. The appeals court previously upheld the verdict, the publication writes.

As a reminder, Jalal Harutyunyan was charged with two counts of negligence in military duties in September 2022. In November 2023, the court acquitted him of one of the counts – concerning the events of October 7, 2020, when, during the 44-day war, Karabakh troops suffered serious losses in manpower and equipment.

The second count concerned the events of October 11-12, 2020, when Harutyunyan mistook an approaching enemy group for Karabakh troops, allowing the Azerbaijani military to attack the command post from the rear. Around 50 witnesses questioned in court testified against Jalal Harutyunyan.

On September 19-20, 2023, Azerbaijan launched large-scale military operations and took control of the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which began a mass exodus of the Armenian population. By October 7, 2023, 100,632 internally displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh had arrived in Armenia, and by September 2024, only 14 Armenians remained in the region. The "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a report "The Beginning and End of the Unrecognized Republic of Artsakh".