BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 5. On September 5, the Baku Military Court reviewed the statements of the accused, Levon Balayan, given during the preliminary investigation, along with other documents related to his criminal case, Trend reports.
According to his testimony, Balayan was drafted into military service in January 1995 and served until 1998 in units stationed in Shusha, Khankendi, and Khojaly, where he was issued an “AKS-74” assault rifle. The military units were equipped with “T-55” and “T-72” battle tanks, as well as “BMP-1” and “BMP-2” infantry fighting vehicles manufactured in the Russian Federation. He noted that senior commander Levon Mnatsakanyan — currently also under arrest — frequently inspected the units to check combat readiness.
Balayan further testified that on September 20, 2020, he was forcibly called up for “service” by the so-called “Khankendi City Military Commissariat” and participated in battles during the early days of the 44-day war, from September 27 to October 2, as part of the “Alasha” battalion positioned in the “third line of defense” in the Sugovushan area.
Importantly, Balayan admitted that on May 1, 2023, he joined one of the armed formations created and financed by Ruben Vardanyan in the then-occupied territories of Azerbaijan. From that date, he received a monthly salary of 170,000 drams (approximately 700 US dollars) via a card issued by “Artsakhbank.” He was detained by Azerbaijani servicemen on September 20.
Court proceedings are ongoing against Armenian nationals accused of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, aggression, terrorism, and violations of the laws and customs of war. The charges also include financing terrorism, violent seizure and retention of power, and other serious offenses.