Azerbaijan’s illegitimate, retaliatory, politically driven trial of former Artsakh political and military leaders has escalated sharply, as prosecutors in Baku demand life sentences and long prison terms for 23 Armenian detainees held since the country’s 2023 military assault and occupation of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). The staged and punitive proceedings, which began in January, are unfolding against the backdrop of the forced displacement of the entire Armenian population of Artsakh. At the Baku Military Court, prosecutors requested life imprisonment for former Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan (2020–2023), former Defense Army Commander Levon Mnatsakanyan, former Deputy Commander Davit Manukyan, former parliament speaker Davit Ishkhanyan, and former foreign minister and presidential advisor Davit Babayan. Azerbaijan’s state-run...