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Baku arrests two more ex-leaders of now-defunct unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic

Earlier on Thursday, the Azerbaijani SSS and Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) confirmed the detention of Arayik Harutyunyan, a former NKR leader, who is facing formal charges of terrorism, starting a war of aggression and premeditated murder, among other alleged crimes

BAKU, October 5. /TASS/. An Azerbaijani court has ordered the arrest of two former leaders of the unrecognized and now-self-dissolved Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), Bako Sahakyan and Arkadi Ghukasyan, as well as ex-NKR Parliament Speaker Davit Ishkhanyan, who are to be held for four months’ detention each, the APA agency reports.

The court order followed a probe by an investigator of the State Security Service (SSS) of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani news agency said. The three former Karabakh officials were arrested by SSS officers on Tuesday.

Earlier on Thursday, the Azerbaijani SSS and Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) confirmed the detention of Arayik Harutyunyan, a former NKR leader, who is facing formal charges of terrorism, starting a war of aggression and premeditated murder, among other alleged crimes.

Last week, Azerbaijani officials reported the detention of former Foreign Minister and NKR Presidential Aide David Babayan and the arrest of Ruben Vardanyan, another former head of Nagorno-Karabakh.

On September 19, tensions flared up again in Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku announced it was launching what it described as "local anti-terrorist measures" and demanded the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the region. Yerevan, in turn, said there were no Armenian forces in Karabakh, calling what was happening "an act of large-scale aggression." Russia called upon the parties to the conflict to stop the bloodshed and go back to trying to settle the Karabakh issue diplomatically. On September 20, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said that an agreement had been reached with the participation of the Russian peacekeeping contingent to suspend anti-terrorist measures in Karabakh.

On September 28, NKR President Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree dissolving the unrecognized state effective January 1, 2024.