14 June 2021, 17:24
Azerbaijani court sentences mercenary from Lebanon to 20 years in prison
The court has found Viken Euldjekzhiyan guilty of terrorism, mercenarism and illegal border crossing. He refused to plead guilty, claiming that he had led a peaceful life in Armenia and was captured on the Lachin highway.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported, citing investigators, that Viken Abraham Euldjekzhiyan, a native of Beirut, had fought in Karabakh on the side of Armenia for a reward of USD 2500.
In October 2020, Azerbaijan and Armenia blamed each other for using militants from the Middle East. According to "Novaya Gazeta", Turkey was recruiting mercenaries in Syria to take part in the Karabakh conflict on the side of Azerbaijan, while ethnic Armenians from Syria and Lebanon also went to the conflict zone.
The court has sentenced Euldjekzhiyan to 20 years in prison. In his last plea, he stated that together with his wife Maralle Nadjaryan he lived in a hotel in the city of Shusha, and then returned to Yerevan. "On November 10, Maralle learned from her sister about the situation in Karabakh; and we decided to return to Shusha (the Armenian name is Shushi) to pick up our things. Azerbaijani militaries were standing along the Lachin highway. I approached them to ask the way and was detained," the "Sputnik Azerbaijan" quotes him as saying.
Maralle Nadjaryan said that they had come to Armenia to start a new life. When the war began, as she said, Euldjekzhiyan was recruited; and they promised to pay extra to him for taking part in hostilities.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 14, 2021 at 11:10 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: CK correspondent
