Azerbaijan launches criminal case against two foreigners fighting in Karabakh war

22 January 2021 17:00 (UTC+04:00)

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By Vafa Ismayilova

Azerbaijan has taken criminal action against two more foreigners who were involved by Armenia in battles in Nagorno-Karabakh during the 44-day war between September 27 and November 10.

Lebanese citizens of Armenian origin Khagop Terziyan and Khagop Khzhiryan are charged with illegal use storage of weapons and of committing acts of terrorism.

They are also charged with creating armed formations or groups not specified by the Azerbaijani legislation, as well as participating in these formations or groups on the basis of religious hatred, religious radicalism or religious fanaticism, also participating in their creation and functioning, supplying them with weapons, ammunition, explosives, attacking enterprises, institutions, organizations or individuals.

The list of charges submitted by the investigating agency was sent to Baku’s Sabail district court for choosing a measure of restraint against both persons.

It should be noted that in late December, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry submitted to the UN member states and relevant international organizations a detailed report on the use of mercenaries and foreign terrorists by Armenia against Azerbaijan during the hostilities from September through November.

President Ilham Aliyev also spoke about the participation of foreign mercenaries involved by Armenia in the 44-day war, during his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on November 21.

“Armenia has extensively used foreign mercenaries. We have numerous photo and video documents. We have passports of foreign citizens, in particular, citizens of France, the USA, Lebanon, Canada, Georgia and other countries. Some of these people are of Armenian origin, some are not. This, however, does not change the essence of the issue because the participation of foreign mercenaries on the part of Armenia, of course, is unacceptable,” Aliyev said.

On November 10, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a Russia-brokered agreement to end fighting in Karabakh and work towards a comprehensive solution.

The November peace agreement ended the 30-years-old conflict between Baku and Yerevan over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region that along with the seven adjacent regions came under the occupation of Armenian armed forces in the war in the 1990s. For nearly three decades, Armenia failed to implement the UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) demanding the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of its troops, which was the main obstacle to the resolution of the conflict.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France had been mediating the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. The Minsk Group’s efforts resulted in no progress as Armenia refused to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions.