Armenian criminals sentenced to 20 years in prison for torturing Azerbaijani hostages - UPDATED

The trial on the case of Armenian militaries held in the administrative building of the Yasamal District Court has ended today.

Mkrtichyan Ludwig and Khosrovyan Alyosha appear before court on charges of torturing Azerbaijani hostages captured during the First Karabakh War.

Report informs that a verdict was read in the process presided by a judge of the Baku Military Court, Elbay Allahverdiyev.

According to the verdict, both criminals are sentenced to 20 years, with ten years to be served in prison and the rest in a maximum-security colony.

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The trial on the case of Armenian militaries - Mkrtichyan Ludwig and Khosrovyan Alyosha - who are charged with subjecting Azerbaijani hostages captured during the First Karabakh War to inhumane torture will continue in the administrative building of the Yasamal District Court today.

Report informs that the defendants' lawyers are expected to deliver speech at the process presided by Baku Military Court's judge Elbay Allahverdiyev. Mkrtichyan and Khosrovyan will say their last word and the verdict will be pronounced.

At the previous session, the prosecutor demanded 20 years in prison for the accused persons, with 10 years to be served in ordinary jail and the rest term in the high-security prison.

The investigation established that an Azerbaijani citizen taken hostage in July 1991 in a forest called "Ballija" near Khojaly city followed by unlawful restriction of liberty, and a civilian taken hostage in Tapgaragoyunlu village, Goranboy district on September 13, 1999, and brought to Yerevan city, the Republic of Armenia, who was detained in one of the military units in the city and acted as an interpreter during the interrogation by the Armenian special services, were tortured by Mkrtchyan Ludwig Mkrtichovich, a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, born in 1969, who upon prior conspiracy entered into criminal relations with a group of individuals participating in the activities of the armed groups consisting of nationalist Armenians living in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, as well as coming from the Republic of Armenia.

The investigation also revealed that 11 Azerbaijani citizens taken captives at different times were beaten and exposed to various tortures in Khojavend and Aghdara districts, Shusha prison, and Yerevan city. Struck by automatic gunfire, a serviceman of the N military unit, Defense Ministry, was killed.

Ludwig Mkrtichyan was detained by the servicemen of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on October 20, 2020, in the territory of Malikjanli village, Fuzuli district.

Investigative measures carried out also exposed the criminal acts by Khosrovyan Alyosha Aramaisovich, a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, born in 1967, who, together with Ludwig Mkrtichyan brutally treated and tortured Azerbaijanis.

It was revealed that Alyosha Khosrovyan tortured five Azerbaijanis during their captivity and subjected them to cruel and inhumane treatment.

Thus, a former soldier of the military unit N of the Ministry of Defense taken prisoner in April 1994 was subjected to cruel and inhumane treatment by Khosrovyan Alyosha Aramaisovich. During his illegal detention in one of the houses in Mysmina (Aghbulag) village, Khojavand district, he was forced to do heavy construction work for the so-called Minister of Defense of the "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" Babayan Samvel Andranikovich and inflicted various bodily injuries.

Alyosha Khosrovyan also demonstrated extreme cruelty to soldiers of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, who were taken captives in 1993-1994 and illegally detained in the Shusha city prison. He tortured them by exposing them to regular beatings, starving, and inflicting mental anguish and physical pain.

Khosrovyan Alyosha was detained by servicemen of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on October 3, 2020, while conducting reconnaissance operations in the territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The investigation on the criminal case against members of the Armenian separatist regime illegally operating in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan, citizens of the Republic of Armenia Mkrtichyan Ludvig Mkrtichyan and Alyosha Khosrovyan for crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes and other facts committed against Azerbaijanis in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan has been completed.

There are well-founded suspicions that Ludwig Mkrtichyan and Alyosha Khosrovyan committed crimes provided by Articles 113 (torture), 115.2 (violation of war laws and customs), 279.1 (creation of armed formations or groups not provided by law), 318.2 (illegal crossing of the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan) and other articles of the Criminal Code. Therefore, they were charged with these articles, and by court decisions, arrest as a measure of restraint was chosen against them.