The Azerbaijan authorities sentenced captured Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) citizen Arsen Baghdasaryan to fifteen years in prison.

The Ganja Court on Grave Crimes on Tuesday issued the aforesaid verdict at the hearing presided over by judge Elbey Allahverdiyev, reported APA news agency of Azerbaijan.

According to the ruling, Baghdasaryan will serve his sentence in a maximum security prison.

The term of his prison sentence will be calculated from December 26, 2014, the day of his arrest.

According to the verdict, Arsen Bagdasaryan is exempt from paying the court fees, which total 665.45 Azerbaijan mantas (approx. $633.79).

As reported earlier, the Ganja Court on Grave Crimes of Azerbaijan on Monday had resumed the “hearing” on the case of Baghdasaryan. And the prosecution demanded that the Armenian captive be sentenced to eighteen years in a maximum security prison.

Within the framework of this hastily concocted case, NKR citizen Arsen Baghdasaryan was charged with “sabotage” and sentenced to pretrial detention. This action by the Azerbaijan authorities was a reprisal to the arrest and subsequent conviction, in the NKR, of Azerbaijani saboteurs Dilham Askerov and Shahbaz Guliyev, who were detained with weapons in their hands and who plead guilty in court.

To note, the case brought against Arsen Baghdasaryan is also a vivid illustration of Azerbaijan’s violation of international human rights. The Azerbaijani authorities had not permitted the International Committee of the Red Cross representatives to see him for 1.5 months since his capture. Baghdasaryan was taken into Azerbaijan captivity on December 26 of the year past.