(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 31. Armenia's
contamination of Azerbaijani territories with mines slows down the
process of finding out the fate of our compatriots missing.
Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Azerbaijan
Republic Sabina Aliyeva said this in an exclusive interview with
Trend .
She noted that about 4,000 Azerbaijanis went missing during the
first Karabakh war as a result of Armenia's military aggression
against Azerbaijan (the State Commission for Prisoners of War,
Hostages, and Missing Citizens of Azerbaijan officially registered
3,890 people). Among them, 3,171 were servicemen, and 719 were
civilians. The civilians included 71 children, 267 women, and 326
old people. 872 missing persons, including 29 children, 98 women,
and 112 old people, were captured or remained in the occupied
territories.
"Despite the testimonies of war prisoners and civilians who
witnessed these events, numerpieces of evidence, and repeated
appeals to provide information on the fate of the missing, the
Armenian side denies the fact of capturing and keeping Azerbaijanis
in captivity. Hiding these facts from international organizations,
Armenia still does not provide Azerbaijan with information about
the fate of the missing Azerbaijanis, including the places of mass
graves. Thus, there is a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions
of August 12, 1949, on the protection of war victims, as well as
the requirements of other international agreements," the Ombudsman
said.
Answering the question of whether any positive results have been
achieved in connection with the release of our compatriots taken
captive and hostage during the first Karabakh war, she said that
according to the data of the State Commission for Prisoners of War,
Hostages, and Missing Citizens of Azerbaijan, the release and
return home of 378 servicemen and 1,102 civilians (224 children,
357 women, and 225 elderly people) who were held captive and
hostage, a total of 1,480 Azerbaijani citizens, have been secured.
"At the same time, according to other information disseminated by
the commission, it was possible to clarify the fate of 15
Azerbaijani citizens missing in the first Karabakh war, whose
identity was established in the process of identification of the
discovered remains," Sabina Aliyeva said.
There are numertestimonies about Armenia's detention of our
compatriots in captivity and as hostages during the first Karabakh
war and the cruel tortures they were subjected to, and one of the
irrefutable facts in this regard was reflected in the letters sent
by the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1998 and 2001 to
the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages, and Missing
Citizens of Azerbaijan regarding 54 Azerbaijanis. In these ICRC
letters, it is noted that representatives of the organization
visited 54 Azerbaijani citizens taken prisoner by the Armenian
military in places of detention in Armenia and in Azerbaijan's
occupied Karabakh. They were officially registered by the ICRC.
However, the bodies of 17 persons were subsequently returned, while
the bodies of 33 others, including six women who were stated to
have died in the places of detention, were not returned, and no
information was provided on the fate of four others, she added.
According to her, out of the 613 residents of Khojaly killed by
the Armenian military during the occupation of Azerbaijan's
Khojaly, 63 were underage children and 106 were women of different
ages. Eight families were completely destroyed; 487 people were
severely injured, resulting in disability; 76 of them were
children. 196 residents of Khojaly are listed as missing, including
36 children, including 13 girls, and 65 women, including 20
elderly. Hundreds of Azerbaijanis who were subjected to various
unbearable tortures and suffered very seriinjuries while in
captivity in Armenia, which resulted in lifelong disabilities, are
still suffering from seriphysical and mental health problems
today. Testimonies and interviews of people about being in Armenian
captivity during the first Karabakh war testify to the commission
by Armenia of numercrimes against peace and humanity, as well
as war crimes against Azerbaijanis.
The Ombudsman noted that the issues of increasing the efficiency
of the work on informing the world community about Armenian
genocide policy against the Azerbaijani people, bringing back to
their homeland the persons taken prisoners and hostages as a result
of the committed aggression, searching for the captives and missing
persons taken hostage in the conflict zones, and coordinating the
activities of state bodies and public and international
organizations in this field fall within the competence of the State
Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages, and Missing Persons of
Azerbaijan. Cooperation with the International Committee of the Red
Cross, other international organizations dealing with humanitarian
issues, and persons carrying out activities in this field is also
undertaken in this connection. The main activity of the Ombudsman
in this sphere is to support the acceleration of the process, to
appeal to international organizations to stop Armenia's
provocations and its gross violation of international humanitarian
law, and to take urgent measures with regard to the captives,
missing persons, and hostage-taking compatriots. In this context,
since the beginning of the second Karabakh war, issues related to
this have been at the center of the Ombudsman's constant attention.
Appeals were sent to the UN, the Council of Europe, the
International Committee of the Red Cross, and other authorized
international and regional organizations; regular correspondence
was conducted with them; and meetings were held. It was demanded to
investigate, on the basis of special procedures, the facts of war
crimes committed by Armenian armed forces and to take measures
defining international legal responsibility.
In addition, according to the Commissioner for Human Rights, the
staff of the Ombudsman's Office held meetings with the families of
persons who went missing during the first Karabakh war and
collected the facts necessary to send to the relevant international
structures. At the same time, in a video message addressed to
international organizations on the occasion of the International
Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances in 2021, the world
community was called upon to assist in providing reliable
information on the fate of our compatriots missing in connection
with the military aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan. 26
citizens of Azerbaijan (20 servicemen and 6 civilians) were
released from Armenian captivity by joint efforts in the aftermath
of the Great Victory won in the 44-day Patriotic War by the heroic
Azerbaijani Army under the leadership of the victoriSupreme
Commander-in-Chief, President Ilham Aliyev. The Ombudsman added
that, unfortunately, six servicemen who were registered as missing
during the 44-day war have not been found yet. At present, work on
their search continues.
Sabina Aliyeva noted that mass graves were discovered in the
territories liberated from occupation, including Edilli, Bashlibel,
Farrukh villages, and Shusha city, where the remains of about 500
people were found. In this regard, the relevant body appointed
forensic medical and molecular genetic examiners, questioned
witnesses, and carried out other necessary investigative and
operational activities. "The Armenian side evades providing
information about the places of mass graves as well as accurate
mine maps. Nevertheless, the relevant structures in Azerbaijan are
constantly working to identify mass grave sites and conduct
relevant expert examinations in order to clarify the fate of about
4,000 Azerbaijanis who went missing during the first Karabakh war.
The fact that Azerbaijani prisoners were held by Armenians in
Shusha prison during the Armenian occupation and their torture and
inhuman treatment are confirmed by witnesses' testimonies. Human
remains were discovered in June 2023 during search operations in
the territory of Shusha prison. Then a mass grave was discovered in
the town of Shusha; the remains of 17 people were found there. One
of the horrifying facts related to the mass grave found in a well
on the territory of Shusha prison is the discovery of nails in the
bones, which indicates that people were tortured. At the same time,
during the initial examination, the remains showed traces of
bullets and blows with blunt and stabbing objects. All these are
convincing facts proving the Armenian policy of hatred towards
Azerbaijanis and merciless treatment of captives and hostages. But,
unfortunately, as a result of the lack of pressure at the
international level and the long-standing atmosphere of impunity,
Armenia quietly continues to commit illegal acts".
There are a number of reasons that, to a certain extent, hinder
the process of clarifying the fate of the missing compatriots. One
of them is that the Armenian side, demonstrating an unconstructive
position, does not provide information about the burial sites.
Another reason is Armenia's contamination of Azerbaijani
territories with mines and unexploded ordnance and its failure to
provide accurate mine maps despite repeated appeals. Unfortunately,
in this regard, it has not yet been possible to locate the
remaining mass grave sites in a short period of time. However, as
the territories are being cleared of mines, the process is
progressing, she added.