Lebanese-Armenian Was Just Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison In Azerbaijan
A Lebanese-Armenian national has been sentenced to 20 years in prison by a court in Azerbaijan after having been arrested in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Vicken Euljekjian, 41, had been facing charges of terrorism and crossing the border to Azerbaijan illegally.
He was accused of receiving a sum of $2,500 to fight in the 2020 conflict, against Azerbaijan, in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Euljekjian had traveled to the disputed region back in November, shortly after a ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan , brokered by Russia, took effect.
He was detained on November 10th by Azerbaijani forces near the city of Shusha.
Euljekjian's family has maintained that he is neither a terrorist nor a mercenary, explaining that while he did volunteer to fight for Armenia in 2020, he never partook in the fighting.
He was charged under Article 114.3 (participation of a mercenary in a military conflict or military operation), Article 214.2.1 (terrorism committed by a group of persons, an organized group, or a criminal organization), and Article 318.2 (illegal crossing of the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan).
His sentencing comes nearly 2 years after he moved to Armenia from Lebanon, in November 2019, a year after receiving Armenian citizenship.
Armenia has condemned Euljekjian's verdict, and the Armenian government is reportedly planning to appeal it.