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Armenian Villager Gets 20-Year Prison Term In Azerbaijan


AZERBAIJAN - A municipal building is seen at the main square in Ganja, Azerbaijan, July 12, 2018
AZERBAIJAN - A municipal building is seen at the main square in Ganja, Azerbaijan, July 12, 2018

A court in Azerbaijan reportedly sentenced a resident of an Armenian border village to 20 years in prison on Wednesday.

The Azerbaijani military detained the 34-year-old Karen Ghazarian in still unclear circumstances in July. It claimed to have captured him while thwarting an Armenian incursion into Azerbaijani territory.

The Armenian Defense Ministry categorically denied the alleged incursion attempt, insisting that Ghazarian is a civilian resident of Berdavan, a village in the northern Tavush province located just a few kilometers from the Azerbaijani border. It said he has a history of mental disease and never served in the Armenian army because of that.

Reports from Azerbaijan said that that Ghazarian received the lengthy prison sentence after being convicted of plotting “terrorist attacks” and “sabotage” in Azerbaijan. According to the Turan news agency, his trial took place in the city of Gyanja in closed session.

The Armenian government did not immediately react to the verdict. It has repeatedly demanded Ghazarian’s release.

Another Armenian man, Zaven Karapetian, is also being held captive in Azerbaijan. Karapetian was detained in June 2014, with Baku similarly claiming to have thwarted an Armenian incursion. Yerevan dismissed that version of events, saying that Karapetian is a civilian resident of Vanadzor, an Armenian city around 130 kilometers from the border section which he crossed for still unknown reasons.

Three residents of other Tavush villages strayed into Azerbaijan in 2014. Two of them were branded Armenian “saboteurs” by the authorities in Baku and died shortly afterwards.

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