BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 3. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan did not allow me to send a letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Arayik Harutyunyan, accused of committing numerous crimes against the Azerbaijani people, said in his testimony at today's court hearing, Trend reports.
"On the evening of October 18, Bako Sahakyan, Arkadi Ghukasyan and I had our last meeting. I called Nikol Pashinyan and said that I was ready to write a letter to the President of Azerbaijan about stopping the war, adding that Bako and Arkadi were ready to join in if necessary. The essence of the letter was simply about stopping the war. The content of the letter we wrote to Pashinyan was that you should stop the war in any way and state that this is the desire of the Armenian people. There was no unified opinion in Armenia, so I said that he could refer to us in asking that the war be stopped. We are ready to allegedly plead guilty afterwards, but human lives must be saved. Pashinyan held several meetings, met with the opposition and almost everyone else. At the end of October 19, he called me back and said that the war would go on. I don’t want to go into further detail, but the worst thing was that the war was going on", he said.
We recall that a total of 15 Armenian nationals are being charged with numerous crimes involving direct leadership and participation of the Armenian state, its state bodies, military forces and illegal armed formations, verbal and written instructions, orders and assignments, provision of material and technical support, central governance, as well as the exercise of rigorous control, with the aim of committing military aggression and acts of terror against the Republic of Azerbaijan in the territory of Azerbaijan in violation of domestic and international law, and involving Robert Sedraki Kocharyan, Serzh Azati Sargsyan, Vazgen Mikaeli Manukyan, Vazgen Zaveni Sargsyan, Samvel Andraniki Babayan, Vitali Mikaeli Balasanyan, Zori Hayki Balayan, Seyran Mushegi Ohanyan, Arshavir Surenovich Garamyan, Monte Charles Melkonyan and others, including criminal acts committed during the course of the war of aggression waged by the aforementioned criminal group.
The said persons, i.e. Arayik Vladimiri Harutyunyan, Arkadi Arshaviri Ghukasyan, Bako Sahaki Sahakyan, Davit Rubeni Ishkhanyan, David Azatini Manukyan, Davit Klimi Babayan, Levon Henrikovich Mnatsakanyan, Vasili Ivani Beglaryan, Erik Roberti Ghazaryan, Davit Nelsoni Allahverdiyan, Gurgen Homeri Stepanyan, Levon Romiki Balayan, Madat Arakelovich Babayan, Garik Grigori Martirosyan, Melikset Vladimiri Pashayan, are being charged under Articles 100 (planning, preparing, initiating and waging a war of aggression), 102 (attacking persons or organizations enjoying international protection), 103 (genocide), 105 (extermination of the population), 106 (enslaving), 107 (deportation or forced displacement of the population), 109 (persecution), 110 (enforced disappearance of people), 112 (deprivation of liberty contrary to international law), 113 (torture), 114 (mercenary service), 115 (violation of the laws and customs of warfare), 116 (violation of international humanitarian law during armed conflict), 118 (military robbery), 120 (intentional murder), 192 (illegal entrepreneurship), 214 (terrorism), 214-1 (financing terrorism), 218 (creation of a criminal association (organization)), 228 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation and possession of weapons, their components, ammunition, explosives and devices), 270-1 (acts threatening aviation security), 277 (assassination of a state official or public figure), 278 (forcible seizure and retention of power, forcible change of the constitutional structure of the state), 279 (creation of armed formations and groups not provided for by law) and other articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.