STEPANAKERT. – Members of the Azerbaijani sabotage group arrested in Nagorno-Karabakh pleaded partially guilty. (photos)

The first hearing into case of Dilgam Askerov and Shahbaz Guliyev was chaired by judge Anatoly Tadevosyan. The defendants' lawyers – Erik Baghdasaryan and Arkady Israelyan – have been appointed by the state.

During the first day of the trial, identity of the defendants, family status and presence of prior conviction was clarified. It was revealed that Askerov lied in court, hiding 15-day jail term. Meanwhile, Guliyev spent 6 years in jail, and, as he said, was acquitted.

Both defendants said they accept guilt in part. Dilgam Askerov said he does not plead guilty in illegally crossing the border of Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh in 2005 accompanied by Shahbaz Guliyev and twice in 2007, with persons named Raffi and Vagif, and the second time alone with a plan to visit the gravee. At the same time, he accepted the charge of illegally crossing the border in 2014 with Shahbaz Guliyev and Hasan Hasanov. Askerov did not accept charges of espionage as well as kidnapping and murdering minor Smbat Tsakanyan. Meanwhile, the charge of illegal possession of weapons, money theft, documents and cattle were accepted.

Shahbaz Guliyev also pleaded partially guilt. According to Guliyev, in 2005, “he was not aware of the presence of the border”. In 2014, he crossed the border still being unaware of the border.

“Dilgam said there is no one there, and we believed him,” Guliyev said. He also partially accepted the charges of illegal possession of weapons.

“Weapons were given on the border. And in 2005, I was unarmed,” he said, thus contradicting the previous assertion that he did not know of the existence of the border. Charges of kidnapping a minor were not accepted as well (Guliyev is not charged with murder - ed).

“I gave him bread. I was with them [(associates], saw everything, but did not do anything,” the defendant said.