(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 2. Vagif Khachatryan
and his gang brutally killed 150 Azerbaijani captives, a witness of
the Meshali massacre, Azay Karimov told trend .
According to him, the situation in Meshali and Malibayli
villages became dramatic in the 1990s.
"We were dispatched by helicopter to Tugh hamlet in the Fuzuli
area while I was the head of staff of a special forces unit for
post-patrol service in the Shusha district. Back then, the
circumstances in Meshali and Malibayli were really terrible, the
witness said. "The Armenians had numerous weapons. We learned of
their occupation of the Meshali village from Tugh. We arrived in
Meshali eight hours after the village had been attacked by
Armenians. The village was already being pillaged by Armenians who
were taking crops", he said.
"We eliminated eight Meshali assailants, all of them came from
the Ballija village, which was two to three kilometers away.
Khojaly, Malibayli, and Garadaghly villages in Karabakh, as well as
Meshali village, were encircled by Armenian-populated villages, he
said. "We had to travel through Ballija village to get from Meshali
to Aghdam. We were aware that a squad of 10 to 15 cops was on duty
in Meshali, but a tiny squad was limited in what it could
accomplish, so we were aware of the challenging circumstances
there. When we arrived in Meshali, the Armenians had already begun
to plunder the community, stealing food and clothing. They shot and
killed four persons in the upper section of the village.
"They shot around two mags into these people's backs. They shot
cats and dogs in addition to cutting off someone's ears and head in
one instance. One dog's head was severed and left in front of the
house. The cattle within the barn were also set on fire by the
perpetrators. Karimov added that the burning's odor was
intolerable."
He also discussed the time he discovered Khachatryan was being
held at the Lachin checkpoint.
"As soon as I read the news about Khachatryan's detention at the
Lachin checkpoint, I immediately took my laptop and went to see my
father. My father is 90 years old, and for almost 48 years, he
worked as the chairman of an economic entity in Malibayli village.
I showed him a photo of Khachatryan and asked if he knew this
person," Karimov noted. "My father said that Vagif worked as a
driver at a transport company and was a staunch Dashnak [supporter
of radical Armenian nationalism]. I told my father that Khachatryan
was arrested at the Lachin checkpoint. Nearly half of those who
committed the Khojaly genocide were fellow villagers of Vagif."
"After the occupation of Khojaly in February 1992, Armenian
residents of Ballija village hanged 150 captured Azerbaijanis on
April 24 of the same year. The Armenians from Ballija village must
be brought to justice for their crimes. In the highland area above
Ballija village, they hanged 150 Azerbaijanis who were captured
during Karabakh's occupation," he said. "I witnessed the atrocities
committed by Armenians. I was 300 meters away from that place,
standing in the snow for eight hours, but nothing could be done. I
have seen many atrocities, but what Khachatryan did cannot even be
described," Karimov added.
The investigation of a criminal case initiated by the
Azerbaijani Military Prosecutor's Office on relevant articles of
the Criminal Code on massacre and deportation of persons of
Azerbaijani nationality and destruction and harm of public and
private properties resulting in large-scale damage caused by
members of illegal Armenian armed groups on December 22, 1991, in
Meshali village of Khojaly district is ongoing.
The investigation established that a citizen of the Republic of
Azerbaijan, Khachatryan, who was born in 1955 in Badara village of
Khojaly (former Asgaran) district and worked as a driver in the
Khankendi city transport company, together with other people of
Armenian nationality, used various weapons, including firearms and
infantry fighting vehicles, to kill all Azerbaijani residents of
Meshali village (Khojaly district).
The assailants attacked the village, killed 25 and injured 14
people of Azerbaijani nationality, and, contrary to national and
international law norms, expelled 358 Azerbaijanis from their
domicile.
In addition, Khachatryan continued his criminal actions together
with his accomplices, destroying and damaging property belonging to
the state and villagers, causing a total of over 5.96 million manat
($3.5 million) of material damage.
Due to the fact that sufficient reasonable suspicions arose
regarding the criminal case, it was decided to involve Khachatryan
as an accused person under articles 103 (massacre) and 107
(deportation or forced movement of the population) of the Criminal
Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan. However, due to the fact that
his whereabouts were unknown to the investigation, on November 12,
2013, an international arrest warrant was issued by an Azerbaijani
court.
As a result of the conducted search measures, on July 29, 2023,
Vagif Khachatryan was detained by the military personnel of the
State Border Service at the Lachin border crossing point of the
Azerbaijan-Armenia state border. He was trying to go to the
Republic of Armenia for treatment through the mediation of the
International Committee of the Red Cross.
