Azerbaijan arrests former Nagorno-Karabakh foreign minister, says he was charged with crimes back in 2020

Azerbaijani authorities arrested David Babayan, the former foreign minister of the unrecognized Artsakh republic in Nagorno-Karabakh and advisor to its president, on September 29, says the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office. The office stated that Babayan was already charged under several criminal code articles, including articles on unleashing and waging a war of aggression and on violating the norms of international humanitarian law during an armed conflict, in 2020 and was put on an international wanted list at that time.

Babayan announced his intention to surrender to Azerbaijani authorities on September 28, saying that his “non-compliance or, worse, an attempt to flee would bring most serious harm” to the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.