Baku has issued a wanted list on over 300 deputy officials and military commanders of Nagorno-Karabakh
Azerbaijani authorities have placed former President of the unrecognised Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), Araik Harutyunyan, and the army commander, Jalal Harutyunyan, on an international wanted list. This was announced by the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan, Kamran Aliyev, as reported by Sarbaz.kz.
"Araik Harutyunyan, Jalal Harutyunyan, and David Babayan are wanted internationally for crimes committed during the 44-day war in 2020. One of them has already been detained, and the investigation is ongoing," he said (quote via TASS).
According to Aliyev, Baku has placed over 300 officials and commanders from Karabakh on an international wanted list.
The Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan previously reported the detention on September 29th of the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and advisor to its president, David Babayan. The department explained that Babayan had been charged in 2020 with crimes including the initiation and conduct of an aggressive war, recruiting mercenaries, issuing criminal orders, and others. He was also placed on an international wanted list at that time. On September 28th, Babayan announced his decision to surrender to the Azerbaijani authorities and clarified that his failure to do so could cause even more serious harm to the "long-suffering people."
On September 27th, while attempting to travel from Karabakh to Armenia, Azerbaijani authorities detained Ruben Vardanyan, the former Minister of the unrecognized republic and former head of the Russian investment company "Troika Dialogue." The following day, he was charged with "financing terrorism" and remanded in custody for four months. On September 29th, the Azerbaijani side also detained Lieutenant General Levon Mnatsakanyan, the former commander of the Karabakh army.
On September 28th, the President of Nagorno-Karabakh, Samvel Shahramanyan, signed a decree to cease the existence of the republic as of January 1, 2024. The population was instructed to "familiarize themselves with the terms of reintegration" presented by Azerbaijan and make an "independent and individual decision" regarding the possibility of staying in Nagorno-Karabakh.