The Baku Military Court has reviewed the birth certificate and passport of former Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan.
The Azerbaijani prosecutor specifically asked Harutyunyan why his birth certificate states he was born in Stepanakert, in the Azerbaijani SSR, while his passport lists his birthplace as the Armenian SSR.
“Does this mean that Armenia considers Karabakh its territory?” State Prosecutor Vusal Abdullayev asked Arayik Harutyunyan.
The Azerbaijani state news agency AzerTAj, covering the court hearing, which is being held without the participation of independent media and international organizations, notes that Arayik Harutyunyan evaded the Azerbaijani prosecutor’s question, stating that he had never discussed the matter with the competent Armenian authorities.
The former leader of Artsakh, who has been imprisoned in Baku for over two years, also explained in court how Nagorno-Karabakh citizens’ passports differ from Armenian citizens’ passports: according to him, the only difference is the code 070.
Harutyunyan stated that the code 070 was specifically added to prevent Artsakh citizens with this passport from participating in elections in Armenia. In any case, he noted, with these passports, Artsakh citizens could travel abroad and travel as Armenian citizens.

