Baku Court Examines Manvel Grigorian's Testimony On Armenia's Role In Occupation

On September 25, the Baku Military Court continued hearings in the criminal case against citizens of the Republic of Armenia, with proceedings focusing on an interview given by former Armenian Deputy Defense Minister Manvel Grigorian, Azernews reports.

In the interview, Grigorian admitted to the direct involvement of Armenia's former presidents Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan in the occupation of Azerbaijani territories. He also revealed that senior Armenian military officials - generals and colonels - had been dispatched from Armenia to establish military units in the occupied areas. Among those he named was a general identified as Artusha from Gyumri.

Grigorian acknowledged that Azerbaijani civilians were killed and villages destroyed during the occupation.“We started to capture the villages of the Turks. We entered, destroyed the villages, and destroyed them. We terrorized them, subjected them to terror,” he said.

The former deputy minister further testified that he commanded a brigade of the Armenian armed forces, which had been sent to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan on the orders of then Defense Minister Vazgen Manukyan. According to him, Armenian forces subsequently occupied 47 villages in Azerbaijan's Fuzuli region.

It should be noted that the ongoing trial addresses crimes committed during Armenia's military aggression against Azerbaijan. The accused face charges including crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes, preparation and conduct of a war of aggression, genocide, violations of the laws and customs of war, terrorism, financing terrorism, and attempts to seize and retain power by force.

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