Lemkin Institute condemns sentencing of Vagif Khachatryan in Azerbaijan

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention issued a statement, condemning the 15-year prison sentence handed down to Vagif Khachatryan on 7 November 2023 by the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The Lemkin Institute exhorted the international community to persuade the regime of President Aliyev into promptly releasing all Armenian persons under its jurisdiction and to refrain from providing any kind of assistance that could worsen the suffering of the victims of the Artsakh genocide or embolden Azerbaijan to perpetrate any unlawful act of aggression.

To remind, the Azerbaijani court sentenced Vagif Khachatryan, 68, an Artsakh resident who was abducted from the Lachin corridor, to 15 years of imprisonment.

He should spend the first five years in prison and the rest in a high-security correctional facility.

The sham trial of Vagif Khachatryan started in Baku on October 13. According to the fabricated case, a total of 59 people were considered “victims”.

Vagif Khachatryan was a participant in the first Artsakh war, and for that reason, the Azerbaijani authorities charged him with serious crimes.

Khachatryan was abducted while crossing the Lachin corridor—and accompanied by the ICRC. He was being transported to Armenia for heart surgery.