Mehrab Muhammad Al-Shkheir (left) and Yusuf Alaabet al-Hajji
YEREVAN (Azatutyun.am) An Armenian court on Tuesday handed life sentences to two Syrian men who were captured during last year’s war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Karabakh’s Armenian-backed army took them prisoner in fierce fighting with Azerbaijani forces stopped by a Russian-mediated ceasefire November 10. They were handed over to Armenia to stand trial on a string of criminal charges, including terrorism.
The trial lasted for just a few hours, with both defendants, identified as Muhrab al-Shkheri and Yusef al-Haji, apparently pleading guilty to the accusations.
The court in the southeastern Armenian town of Kapan sentenced them to life in prison, backing investigators’ claims that that they are mercenaries who were recruited by pro-Turkish militant groups to “terrorize civilians” in Karabakh and commit other war crimes.
Armenia’s Prosecutor General Declared 30 Mercenaries Wanted
A criminal indictment of two mercenaries captured and deposed during last fall’s war has been sent to a court in the Syunik Province, where the defendants will face trial for their role in fighting alongside Azerbaijani forces in their aggressive war against Artsakh.
The two defendants, Muhrab Muhammad al-Shkheri and Yousef Alabet al-Hajji, were charged with war crimes, according Arevik Khachatryan, a spokesperson for Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s office, who told Armenpress on Tuesday that similar cases are pending against 30 other mercenaries, who were sent to the Karabakh conflict zone by Turkey.
Mehrab Muhammad Al-Shkheir (left) and Yusuf Alaabet al-Hajji
Syrian mercenaries who were arrested by Armenia for fighting alongside Azerbaijani forces in the Karabakh war will not be exchanged in the prisoner swap with Azerbaijan, the investigation committee told Armenpress on Wednesday.
Syrian jihadists were recruited by Ankara and were paid to fight alongside Azerbaijani forces, some committed heinous crimes against Armenians in Artsakh.
Artsakh forces detained two such mercenaries, who were transported to Armenia and have been detained since last month.
“They [the mercenaries] are defendants and have been remanded into custody,” the committee’s spokesperson Rima Yeganyan told Armenpress.