As a result of investigations and court proceedings conducted against the leaders and key figures of the separatist regime established in Karabakh with the support of Armenia, who participated in armed and political activities against the territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan, several individuals have been sentenced to life imprisonment. These individuals represented the political, military, and ideological administration of the so-called entity in various years, participated in the Karabakh wars, terrorist and subversive activities, and were accused of committing grave crimes against the Azerbaijani state and civilian population.
Modern.az presents the dossier of Armenian separatists sentenced to life imprisonment as a result of the court proceedings.
Arayik Harutyunyan was one of the key figures of the separatist regime established in Azerbaijan's Karabakh region with the support of Armenia.
Arayik Harutyunyan was born in 1973 in an Armenian family in Khankendi. In 1990, he graduated from a physics and mathematics-oriented school in Khankendi and was admitted to the Armenian Institute of National Economy in the same year. Continuing his education in Karabakh, Arayik Harutyunyan studied at the Faculty of Economics of Khankendi Pedagogical Institute (later named “Artsakh State University”) in 1994-1995, and pursued postgraduate studies in economics at the same university from 1996-1998. In 2013, he defended his dissertation and obtained a Candidate of Technical Sciences degree.
In 1992, Arayik Harutyunyan joined the illegal armed groups of the so-called “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic” and participated in the Karabakh war as a separatist. After the war, Harutyunyan, who worked in various structures of the separatist regime, served as “Assistant to the Minister of Economy and Finance” of the so-called entity from 1995-1997. Subsequently, he headed the Askeran branch of “Armagrobak” from 1997-1999, and the Khankendi branch of the bank from 1999-2004.
According to information, Arayik Harutyunyan's political activity intensified from 2005 onwards. From 2005-2007, he served as a “member of parliament” of the so-called regime, as well as the chairman of the “Azat Ayenik” (“Free Homeland”) party and the leader of the “Homeland” faction. On September 14, 2007, he was elected “prime minister” by the “parliament” upon the nomination of Bako Saakyan, the head of the so-called regime. In 2009, Harutyunyan was re-elected chairman of the “Azat Ayenik” party, and the political force he led came first in the so-called “parliamentary elections” held in 2010, winning 14 out of 33 seats.
In September 2012, Arayik Harutyunyan was re-appointed “prime minister” of the so-called regime upon the nomination of Bako Saakyan. Subsequently, he served as “state minister” in the separatist entity from September 25, 2017, to June 6, 2018. On March 31, 2020, he was brought to the leadership of the separatist regime after the "presidential elections" of the so-called entity.
David Babayan was born in 1973 in Khankendi. In 1989, he graduated from Russian Secondary School No. 8 in Khankendi and, in the same year, enrolled in the Yerevan Institute of National Economy, specializing in state regulation of economy. Babayan graduated from this university in 1994. Continuing his education, David Babayan graduated from the Faculty of Political Science at the American University of Armenia in 1997, and the Faculty of International Relations at Central European University (Budapest) in 1998.
In 2005, Babayan defended his candidate's dissertation at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, receiving a Candidate of Historical Sciences degree. In 2013, he was awarded the academic title of associate professor. In 2018, he again defended his doctoral dissertation at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, earning a Doctor of Historical Sciences degree.
According to information, David Babayan taught geopolitics, political science, and government studies at Khankendi Pedagogical Institute and Goris State University in various years. He is the author of nearly 300 publications, including dozens of articles published in several scientific journals in Armenia, Russia, the USA, and Europe, and has written 8 monographs. Babayan was also a member of the so-called regime's "Writers' Union."
His political activity began in 1998. From 1998-1999, David Babayan served as Second Secretary in the Political Department of the “Ministry of Foreign Affairs” of the so-called “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.” From 2000-2001, he was the "Head of the Political Programming Department of the Political Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs" of the entity unrecognized under international law. From May to December 2001, he served as the head of that department.
From 2001–2005, Babayan worked as a staff member of the Planning Group under the “president” of the so-called regime. Subsequently, from 2005–2007, he served as “assistant to the president of the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.” In 2007, he was appointed "Head of the Main Information Department of the Presidential Administration."
In 2019, he founded the “Artsakh Conservative Party” and was elected its chairman. In 2020, Babayan was appointed advisor to the president of the so-called regime, and in 2021, he was appointed to the post of “foreign minister” of the separatist entity.
Levon Mnatsakanyan was born in 1965 in an Armenian family in Khankendi. Mnatsakanyan joined the Soviet Army for military service in 1983, serving in the Belarusian Military District. In 1989, he graduated from the Karl Marx Polytechnic Institute. He participated in the First Karabakh War. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he played a role in army building in Armenia, serving in artillery units of the so-called NKR Defense Army and the Armenian Armed Forces. In 2005, he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. At the end of that year, he returned to Karabakh and became Deputy Commander of the Defense Army.
Levon Mnatsakanyan was appointed Minister of Defense by President Bako Saakyan in 2015. In December 2018, he was relieved of his post. He was then appointed "Director of the State Service for Emergency Situations." In June 2019, he was dismissed from his position and appointed Chief of the so-called "NKR Police."
Levon Mnatsakanyan participated in the Second Karabakh War in 2020, commanding Armenian troops stationed in nearby Shushakend during the Battle of Shusha towards the end of the war.
On September 29, 2023, while traveling from Karabakh to Armenia, he was detained by the Azerbaijani law enforcement service at the "Lachin" border checkpoint and brought to Baku.
David Manukyan served as the "First Deputy Commander of the separatist army." In 2020, he received the military rank of Major General. According to the "Hraparak" publication, David Manukyan is the brother of Dashnak MP Gegham Manukyan from the "Armenia” bloc.
Davit Manukyan participated in the organization and management of the activities of illegal organized armed groups on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan under the title of “First Deputy Commander of the Defense Army of the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.”
He also participated in the supply of weapons, ammunition, explosives, and devices. Furthermore, he participated in organizing terrorist acts through these terrorist groups, accompanied by explosions, fires, or other actions that created a threat of human casualties, harm to their health and property, or other publicly dangerous consequences, with the aim of disrupting public safety in Azerbaijan, creating panic among the population, and influencing decision-making by state authorities and international organizations.
David Ishkhanyan, the “Karabakh representative” of the “Dashnaktsutyun” party and former chairman of the separatist regime's parliament, was born on December 28, 1968, in the village of Heshank (Khojavend) in Martuni district. In 1992, he graduated from the history and law faculty of Khankendi Pedagogical Institute.
D. Ishkhanyan, who participated in the First Karabakh War, commanded one of the battalions in Khojavend from 1992-1995.
He served as the director of Heshank village school and head of the village community. He has been a member of the Dashnaktsutyun Party since 1989. From 2007-2021, he held the post of Karabakh representative of the party's Central Committee. Since 2022, he has been a Bureau member. He was elected “member of parliament” in 1991, 2015, and 2020.
On August 7, 2023, he received a mandate for the position of “parliament speaker.”
