Aide to President: Armenia's protest to detention of war criminal is act of supporting war crimes at state level
'Protest' by official, public/media institutions of Armenia to detention of war criminal Vagif Khachatryan, who killed 25 Azerbaijani civilians, is nothing but an act of supporting and justifying war crimes at state level. "He tried to use ICRC medical evacuation for human smuggling, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration, Hikmat Hajiyev wrote on his Twitter.
Note that Vagif Khachaturyan, internationally wanted fugitive of Meshali massacre of December 22, 1991, was detained by the military personnel of the State Border Service at the Lachin border crossing point of the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border while trying to go to the Republic of Armenia for treatment through the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The investigation established Vagif Khachaturyan, an Azerbaijani citizen (born in 1955), a native of the village of Badara, Askeran region, who lived in this village and worked as a driver at the city motor transport enterprise in Khankendi, together with other persons of Armenian nationality, committed an armed attack in Meshali village with the use of various weapons, including firearms and infantry fighting vehicles, as a result of which 25 people of Azerbaijani nationality were killed, 14 people received injuries of varying severity, 358 people were forcibly evicted from their places of legal residence.
In addition, Vagif Cherkazovich Khachaturyan, continuing joint criminal actions with persons with whom he had previously colluded, destroying and damaging property belonging to the state and villagers, caused material damage in the total amount of 5,496,900 manats.
On November 12, 2013, a decision was made to bring Khachaturyan Vagif Cherkezovich as a defendant under Articles 103 (genocide) and 107 (deportation or forced relocation of the population) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, but the investigation did not know his whereabouts. By a court decision, a measure of restraint in the form of arrest was chosen against him with an announcement on the international wanted list.
As a result of search activities, on July 29, 2023, Vagif Khachaturyan was detained by the servicemen of the State Border Service of Azerbaijan at the Lachin BCP, located on the Azerbaijani-Armenian state border, while trying to leave for the Republic of Armenia for treatment through the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Vagif Khachaturian will be provided with accommodation in a medical facility in Baku, where he will be provided with the necessary medical assistance, and conditions will be created for visiting him by representatives of the ICRC.
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