Azernews.Az

BAKU – Documents of the ad hoc commission that investigated the massacre of Azerbaijanis committed by Armenians in 1918-1920, the years of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, may be the basis for filing criminal charges at the UN war-crimes tribunal in The Hague, head of Azerbaijan’s National Archive Department has said.

Atakhan Pashayev told reporters on Tuesday that work is underway to transfer the papers to the Hague court to prosecute the culprits on charges of genocide.

"The facts available fully prove the Armenian policy of genocide. It was established that the archives of the commission contain investigation materials consisting of 36 volumes and 3,500 pages," Pashayev said.

Most of the archives shed light on the genocide perpetrated in Baku, while seven materials concern the massacre committed in the Shamakhy province. About 11,000 people were killed in Baku and 16,000 in Shamakhy. Also, 16,000 people, including over 3,000 Jews, were slain in Guba.

The ad hoc commission was established in July 1918 by the national government of Azerbaijan in the city of Ganja for two purposes. First, the investigators were to collect data concerning the genocide committed in 1918 in Baku, Shamakhy and Guba and the massacre unleashed in 1918 and 1919 in the western and other parts of Azerbaijan. Secondly, the commission was tasked with publishing the obtained documents in a number of languages, including English, French, Russian, Arabic and Turkish, to familiarize the world community with the tragedy.