Sargis Galstyan Has Spied for Azerbaijan for Years: New Details

The former deputy mayor of Shushi, head of the Artsakh Ministry of Defense and Patriotic Acts, and deputy chief of staff of the presidential office, Sargis Galstyan, is serving a sentence in the Artik prison for charges of espionage in favor of Azerbaijan. The court ruling regarding Galstyan's case has come into effect last month, and he has recently been transferred to the place of punishment. This information is reported by Azatutyun.

Initially, both the first-instance and the Court of Appeals concluded that Sargis Galstyan, known by the alias 'Sarkhan', had been spying for Azerbaijan for years, having held high positions since 2018.

According to the case materials, in November 2020, Galstyan established contact with an employee of a foreign state's special intelligence service, from whom he received instructions to conduct espionage. Galstyan agreed to this, thus getting recruited by the intelligence service, after which he received the Azerbaijani alias 'Sarkhan'.

The trial, which lasted more than a year, reveals that from 2020 to 2023, Galstyan collected and transmitted information via WhatsApp and other mobile applications, regarding the needs of the population in Artsakh, including the availability of food, as well as the sentiments within the Artsakh Armenian community.

According to the case documents, he also provided details about the positions of representatives of the governments of Armenia and Artsakh regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, the disagreements between them, and, during the Azerbaijani aggression in September 2023, information about potential military support from Armenia, arming the population, possible resistance, and other similar details.

Talks about Galstyan being a spy in Armenia began after he decided to stay in Stepanakert with his wife, Margarita, following the expropriation of his home.