Baku court hears new details on Mnatsakanyan’s involvement in 2020 Karabakh war

New evidence has emerged in a Baku military court regarding Levon Mnatsakanyan’s alleged role during the 2020 Karabakh war.

Mnatsakanyan, a retired military official, told the court that during the 44-day conflict, he visited several areas at the request of Arayik Harutyunyan, then head of the self-proclaimed separatist administration in Karabakh, Caliber.Az reports, citing domestic media.

Mnatsakanyan said he was not holding any official post at the time and had already retired from military service.

He stated that Harutyunyan contacted him twice—on October 14 and again in early November 2020—to assist with local civil defence measures and assess artillery conditions. In response, Mnatsakanyan said he travelled to multiple front-line locations, including Hadrut and Sugovushan.

During the hearing on June 13, the court examined new video evidence reportedly filmed during the war. The footage, played in the courtroom, showed a military meeting taking place in a school building in Shushakend. Mnatsakanyan was seen attending the meeting.

The meeting was chaired by Samvel Babayan, described in court as a former “defence minister” and “security council secretary” of the unrecognised regime.

In the video, Babayan is heard instructing attendees on a planned assault against Azerbaijani forces near Shusha, describing the operation as decisive for the future of Karabakh.

“There’s a mined area on the map—don’t go that way,” Babayan says, before detailing plans to encircle Azerbaijani troops and begin an offensive at 7 am the following morning, following a 15-minute artillery barrage.

Mnatsakanyan told the court he did not participate in the discussion and claimed the operation was never carried out.

The hearing is part of a broader legal case in which several Armenian nationals stand accused of serious crimes, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, the waging of aggressive war, terrorism, and the unlawful seizure and retention of power.

By Aghakazim Guliyev