Baku: Victim Ilham Mammadov, who identified Levon Mnatsakanyan during a trial, recounted a harrowing experience of being struck on the head with a fist and the butt of a rifle during a Baku Military Court hearing on October 2. Mammadov provided testimony against Armenian citizens accused of war crimes and other serious offenses.
According to Azeri-Press News Agency, Mammadov testified that he was taken hostage by Armenian armed forces on May 10, 2002, while serving in the military and on his way to his post on the Harami plain. He was unarmed and claimed that Armenian soldiers subjected him to severe beatings and torture. Mammadov identified accused Levon Mnatsakanyan as the officer who inflicted these atrocities, stating, “He struck me on the head with his fist and the butt of his rifle. He took me out onto the trench and opened fire.” Mammadov further alleged that Mnatsakanyan forced him into a dangerous position where Azerbaijani soldiers might have accidentally shot him, and later made him walk through a minefield.
Mammadov was detained for a week in Azerbaijani territories then occupied by Armenian forces before being transferred to Armenia, where he remained for 6 months and 15 days before his return to Azerbaijan. In court, Mammadov clarified to the defense that he had no prior knowledge of Levon Mnatsakanyan before his capture and was unaware of his exact position at the time, though he speculated it may have been as chief of staff.
Levon Mnatsakanyan, during his questioning, confirmed that he was born in 1973 and held the rank of senior lieutenant at the time of Mammadov’s capture. He detailed his military background, mentioning his graduation from the Azerbaijan Agricultural Institute, where he received officer training in a military department.
The trial is part of ongoing court proceedings against Armenian nationals facing charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, terrorism, and other severe offenses. These include financing terrorism and the violent seizure and retention of power.