“Trial” of Karen Avanesyan concludes in Baku; sentenced to 16 years in prison
Karen Avanesyan, one of the last remaining residents of Stepanakert after the forced displacement of Artsakh Armenians, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison in Azerbaijan. This information is reported by Azerbaijani media.
According to the publications, the “trial” took place in the Ganja Court on Grave Crimes, presided over by Judge Ilkin Ibishov.
The Azerbaijani side accuses Avanesyan of “terrorism and other particularly grave crimes.” Back in September 2025, Azerbaijani media, citing the country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), claimed that an “attempted terrorist attack” within the country had been prevented. According to their version, during his arrest, Karen Avanesyan allegedly threw three grenades and opened fire with an automatic rifle at police officers, wounding one of them and sustaining injuries himself. As “evidence,” footage was released which only showed a man walking through the city with a bag over his shoulder.
It should be recalled that Armenian captives in Baku prisons are in complete isolation; no international independent body visits them. There is no information regarding their conditions of detention, or their health and psychological status.
It is worth noting that Karen Avanesyan is one of the last residents who remained in Stepanakert, the capital of Artsakh, following the forced displacement in 2023.