Trial of Vagif Khachatryan to Begin Today

This morning in Baku, the trial of Vagif Khachatryan, who was abducted by Azerbaijani forces from the Lachin corridor in July of this year, commences.

According to the Azerbaijani APA agency, the case will be examined by the Baku Military Court, presided over by Judge Jamal Ramazanov. APA notes that a total of 59 individuals have been recognized as victims in the case, and today the identities of both the defendants and the 59 victims will be clarified.

Khachatryan was abducted at the end of July from a checkpoint located on the Lachin corridor, specifically from a Red Cross vehicle. The Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office has stated that “Khachatryan was charged” back in 2013 and that “an international search warrant has been issued” for him.

Baku has accused the ethnic Armenian of several serious crimes, including “the armed attack on the village of Meshali in 1991, resulting in the deaths of 25 Azerbaijanis.” Stepanakert has dismissed these accusations as false, asserting that “no such crime occurred in the village of Meshali.”