Baku court hands life, long terms to Karabakh separatist leaders
The Hindu
Azerbaijan's military court sentences Karabakh separatist leaders to life and long prison terms for war crimes amid ongoing tensions.
An Azerbaijani military court on Thursday (February 5, 2026) imposed terms of up to life imprisonment against Armenian separatist leaders charged in a war crimes trial, state media reported.
Azerbaijan's seizure of its breakaway region of Karabakh in 2023 ended nearly three decades of control by Armenian separatists, prompting the enclave's entire ethnic Armenian population — more than 100,000 people — to flee.
After regaining control of the disputed region, Baku arrested several separatist leaders on war crimes charges. Armenia has demanded their release.
Araik Harutyunyan — who led Karabakh's separatist government from May 2020 to September 2023 — "was sentenced to life imprisonment by Baku's military court", state news agency Azertag said.
He was convicted of "crimes including waging an aggressive war, genocide, terrorism and other offences" linked to Armenia's decades-long control of the mountainous enclave, the agency said.
Arkady Ghukasyan and Bako Sahakyan — who served as Karabakh's separatist presidents from 1997 to 2007, and from 2007 to 2020 respectively — were "sentenced to 20 years in prison, as a life term could not be imposed because they had reached the age of 65."
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