Sahakyan admits illegal resettlement in Azerbaijan’s formerly occupied lands Baku trial

Bako Sahakyan, the former head of the self-proclaimed separatist regime in Karabakh, has admitted to orchestrating the illegal resettlement of foreign nationals in Azerbaijani territories during Armenia’s occupation. 

Testifying before the Baku Military Court on June 21, Sahakyan admitted under questioning by the prosecution that, during his tenure, individuals from Syria, Lebanon, and other countries were deliberately resettled in territories previously occupied by Armenian armed forces. He identified the so-called “Ministry of Social Welfare” of the illegal entity as the coordinator of these activities, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

“This project was of strategic importance to us because, after the first war, the population had significantly declined,” Sahakyan said, although he acknowledged the initiative ultimately failed to achieve its objectives.

Furthermore, Sahakyan confirmed that he had been a member of the “Hayastan” All-Armenian Fund, an organisation established in 1992 by a decree from then-President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan. He revealed that senior officials from both the Armenian government and the separatist regime were involved in the fund’s activities.

Sahakyan stated that the fund raised donations from Armenian diaspora communities and businessmen worldwide. He disclosed that while some of the funds were spent within Armenia, a significant portion was allocated to the separatist entity in Karabakh.

Among the projects financed by the fund, Sahakyan cited the construction of two highways connecting Armenia to Khankendi—specifically, the Yerevan-Goris-Khankendi and Yerevan-Basarkechar-Khankendi routes. He further admitted that these roads were used to transport military equipment from Armenia into Azerbaijani territory, in violation of international law.

Sahakyan also confirmed that part of the fund’s financial resources supported the illegal settlement of foreigners in Azerbaijan’s internationally recognised territories, reinforcing long-standing allegations of demographic engineering.

The ongoing trial is part of a broader legal process against Armenian nationals accused of a range of grave crimes, including crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes, genocide, terrorism, the financing of terrorism, and the unlawful seizure of power, all in connection with Armenia’s decades-long military aggression against Azerbaijan.

By Vugar Khalilov