Azerbaijan confirmed on Thursday that it has arrested a former president of the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave where it just won a lightning victory against Armenian separatists.
Araïk Haroutiounian, who led the enclave until early September 2023, was detained on suspicion of “waging a war” and “hiring mercenaries,” thereby “violating international humanitarian principles,” the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office said .
The day before, Yerevan condemned the arrests of former Nagorno-Karabakh leaders or officials, citing in particular the case of Araïk Haroutiounian, without specifying when he was arrested.
But Azerbaijan had not yet confirmed this information.
Armenia condemns “illegal” and “arbitrary” arrests of former Nagorno-Karabakh leaders by Baku.
Yerevan authorities regretted that “Azerbaijani law enforcement agencies continue to carry out arbitrary arrests” despite promising to “respect the rights of Armenians” in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Another high-ranking enclave official, Rouben Vardanian, was taken into custody in late September.
The UN human rights office called for his rights to be respected, while his children said they were “fearful for his life and health”.
They said they had no information about his prison conditions.