An Armenian court convicted former Artsakh official Sargis Galstyan on charges of espionage for Azerbaijan and sentenced him to 18 years in prison on Friday.
Galstyan, along with his wife, was one of the few dozen Artsakh Armenians who chose not to flee to Armenia after Azerbaijan’s military offensive in September 2023, which caused a mass exodus from the region. The couple eventually arrived in Armenia via the Berdzor corridor in March.
Galstyan was arrested the following day and charged with espionage. Armenian authorities provided limited details, stating only that he admitted to working for Azerbaijani security services during and after the 2020 Artsakh war.
Galstyan’s lawyer, Aleksandr Kochubayev, claimed in June that his client had recanted the confession, alleging it was made under duress. Kochubayev asserted that masked interrogators had threatened to kill Galstyan and arrest his family if he refused to confess. Armenia’s Investigative Committee denied these claims, and the lawyer said no other evidence had been presented to support the espionage charges.
The trial was held behind closed doors, and Kochubayev announced plans to appeal the verdict.
A veteran of the 1991-1994 war with Azerbaijan, Galstyan held various leadership positions in Artsakh for decades. His decision to remain in Stepanakert after Azerbaijan’s recapture of the region fueled suspicions of possible collaboration with Azerbaijani authorities, though Galstyan did not publicly explain his choice or the reasons for his eventual departure from Karabakh.
In March, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) escorted Galstyan and his wife to the Armenian border. An ICRC spokesperson in Yerevan reported that the organization has facilitated the voluntary relocation of over 50 other Karabakh Armenians to Armenia since October 2023.
