YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. The Minister of Justice Karen Andreasyan says the initiation of criminal proceedings by Azeri law enforcement agencies against the President of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan is void of any international legal base.

“Definitely, any reasonable person understands that this criminal case can’t have any international legal foundations. The people of Artsakh organized self-defense during the war that was launched by Azerbaijan. Launching legal prosecution for self-defense is unreasonable,” Andreasyan said.

The Azeri general prosecution earlier said that they intend to arrest President Harutyunyan “as soon as possible for what they described as the “missile attack on Gyanja” during the war.

During the 2020 war, on October 4, the Artsakh president Arayik Harutyunyan ordered missile strikes on military facilities in Ganja in response to the Azeri indiscriminate use of prohibited cluster munitions during the bombardment of civilian areas, including the heavy bombardment of Stepanakert City. On October 4, the Defense Army delivered several missile strikes with the purpose of neutralizing military facilities deployed in the city of Ganja. Then, President Harutyunyan ordered the military to stop firing to avoid possible civilian casualties.