The public prosecutor sought life imprisonment for the defendant, Sargis Galstyan, but the court handed over an 18-year prison term.

Prosecutors said they will appeal the decision.

Galstyan, who held various posts in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2018-2023, including the Deputy Head of the Shushi Regional Administration, Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Military-Patriotic, Youth, Sports and Tourism Affairs, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports and Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of Nagorno-Karabakh, contacted foreign intelligence services in November 2020 and agreed to spy for them. He was assigned the asset alias Sarkhan, according to prosecutors. 

In 2020-2023, Galstyan gathered and transferred information about the Nagorno-Karabakh population, their sentiments, stances of the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, as well as possible military support by Armenia during the September 2023 events, according to prosecutors.

After the depopulation of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023, Galstyan and his wife remained in Stepanakert and continued to spy for the foreign intelligence services, conveying information about the Armenian population. He was arrested after crossing into Armenia. 

Back then, some media outlets reported that Galstyan had been appointed as commandant of Stepanakert by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, but this information was subsequently denied by Galstyan’s family member.

Published by Armenpress, original at https://armenpress.am/en/article/1205694