BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 14. The group led by Murad Petrosyan also included Armenian individuals known as Artur (nicknamed "Afghan"), Sasun, Ashot, Samvel, and Karo. This information was revealed in the testimony of witness Artur Abramyan during the ongoing court hearings at the Baku Military Court on Monday, Trend reports.
The witness stated that he had learned from Samvel that a rocket had been launched at the city of Shusha from the Topkhana forest by Samvel himself, together with Ashot, Karo, Sasun, and Artur. Their objective was to target the civilian population of Shusha.
According to the testimony, financial assistance to the Armenian armed groups operating in Azerbaijani territories was provided from Yerevan. The funds were reportedly sent by helicopter to the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan by Vazgen Manukyan, then Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council of Armenia, through his associates. The money was received in Khankendi by Robert Kocharian, who personally handed it over to Murad Petrosyan on several occasions. Petrosyan subsequently distributed the funds among members of Armenian armed groups active on Azerbaijani soil.
In early October 1989, Murad Petrosyan met with his group members—Akop, Abo, Slavik, Ashot, and Gago—and instructed them to blow up a bridge on the road as part of a plan to blockade the city of Shusha.
During an additional witness interrogation conducted via video recording on June 28–29, 1991, Artur Abramyan repeated statements consistent with his earlier testimony. He again confirmed that during the conflict, illegal armed groups operating on Azerbaijani territory received financial support from Vazgen Manukyan and Levon Ter-Petrosyan, stating that the funds were received in Khankendi by Robert Kocharian.