International community must be informed on Khojaly massacre
By Nazrin Gadimova
The international community must have true information about the Khojaly genocide, committed by the Armenian military back in 1992.
Ismayil Akhundov, Head of the working group of the State Commission on Prisoners, Hostages and Missing Persons made the remarks during the round table held on February 24.
The event brought together members of the commission and international organizations, members of the joint investigation team of Azerbaijan’s General Prosecutor’s Office, the Interior Ministry and the State Security Service, as well as representatives of NGOs and many others.
Addressing the event, Akhundov said the commission was established in order to search for missing persons and to return those captured and taken hostage during the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The head of the commission emphasized the importance of ensuring the rights of the victims of war, as well as informing the world community about the Khojaly massacre for the legal evaluation of the tragedy in accordance with the international practice.
Touching upon the atrocities of Armenians against Azerbaijanis, Akhundov noted that Armenians subjected the Azerbaijani hostages to incredible tortures.
“Armenians brutally killed them, disregarding the fact that the hostages were elderly, children, women and the wounded,” he said.
Khojaly, the second largest town in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, came under intense fire from the towns of Khankendi and Askeran already occupied by the Armenian armed forces in 1992.
As many as 613 civilians mostly women and children were killed in the massacre, and a total of 1,000 people were disabled. Eight families were exterminated, 25 children lost both parents, and 130 children lost one parent. Moreover, 1,275 innocent people were taken hostage, and the fate of 150 of them remains unknown.
Addressing the event, Alekper Khalilov, a member of the joint investigation team, said that evidences given by the Khojaly residents, who managed to get out of the encirclement, once again prove that Armenians committed horrible crimes against the humanity.
“Children, elderly and wounded persons were tortured. They [Armenians] cut off their noses, ears, and heads, gouged out eyes, [the hostages] were burned alive, armored vehicles passed over them,” he said, adding that the list of such tortures is long enough.
Khalilov further added that Azerbaijan has commenced proceedings against 39 persons engaged in the Khojaly massacre.
About 78,000 investigative actions were carried out on criminal cases related to crimes committed by Armenians against Azerbaijanis, said Ulvi Ahmadov, a member of the joint investigative group.
Over 7,000 people have been testified as witnesses, about 26,000 people - as affected individuals, and 809 different examinations were held, he added.
“Among 296 accused persons there are three Russians, one Ukrainian, 18 soldiers of the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, including 14 Armenians, 18 members of internal affairs agencies and 11 employees of the former Committee for State Security of the Soviet Union,” Ahmadov said, adding that the others worked in the former party and government bodies, in the spheres of education, catering, transport, agriculture and others.
Meanwhile, expert Eldar Samedov informed that Armenia has turned Azerbaijani hostages into the object of trade, as 68 Azerbaijani citizens have been redeemed from the captivity for the large sum of money.
The investigation revealed that Armenia has captured more than 6,000 citizens of Azerbaijan, he said adding that 1,435 Azerbaijanis have been released up to date.
Samedov said that the medical examination of those liberated from Armenian captivity revealed that most of them were infected.
"Currently, 3,860 citizens of Azerbaijan are prisoners and hostages. including 3,162 soldiers, 698 civilians, 60 minors, 249 women, and 303 elderly people,” Samedov said.
Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that caused a brutal war in the early 1990s. Long-standing efforts by the U.S., Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.
The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenia's withdrawal from Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.
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Nazrin Gadimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @NazrinGadimova
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