Azernews.Az

By Aynur Karimova

Azerbaijan is keeping the criminal case against the Swiss citizen Vartan Sirmakes in the limelight.

This was stated by Hikmet Hajiyev, spokesman for Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on April 20.

The Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office initiated a criminal case against Sirmakes over his illegal activities on the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia in October 2015.

Sirmakes with a group of people was engaged in illegal economic activity in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan to propagandize the illegal regime in these areas at the international level.

He took part in the opening ceremony of the gold mine in Veyneli village of the occupied Zangilan region without the consent of the relevant state body of Azerbaijan and without permission. He illegally crossed the state border, as well as committed malevolent acts, calling into question the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan.

A criminal case was filed in the Investigation Department for Grave Crimes of the Prosecutor General's Office under articles 318.2, 281.2 and 192.2.2 of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code.

The Prosecutor General's Office has also sent requests to Switzerland over the criminal case, Hajiyev told Trend.

He noted that the report of the Foreign Ministry on "Illegal economic and other activities in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan" contains sufficient information gathered from the Armenian sources about the illegal activities of Sirmakes and his company Franck Muller on Azerbaijan's occupied lands.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan's Embassy in Switzerland has provided detailed information to the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and other structures of that country about the latest escalation of situation on the line of contact as a result of the Armenian provocation and the atrocities committed by Armenians against Azerbaijani civilians.

Unauthorized visits to Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied regions of Azerbaijan are considered illegal and individuals who pay such visits are included in Azerbaijani foreign ministry’s “black list”.

Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions of Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly one million were displaced as a result of the war.

Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994, but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.

Peace talks mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. have produced no results so far.

Despite repeated calls, Armenia defying all principles of the international law has been holding the Azerbaijani territories under occupation. So, currently these areas are temporarily out of the control of Azerbaijan.

Therefore, any visit without Azerbaijan’s consent to the above-mentioned territories, which are internationally recognized as an integral part of Azerbaijan, is considered a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and a breach of both national legislation and the relevant norms and principles of international law.

Baku has repeatedly warned foreign officials and diplomats against unauthorized visits to territories under Armenian occupation, stating that such visits violate international law. The country urges all foreign nationals to refrain from traveling to the occupied territories in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.

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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter @Aynur_Karimova

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