Save Azerbaijani Hostages from Armenians!

  10 July 2015    Read: 10517
Save Azerbaijani Hostages from Armenians!
WHAT HAS BEEN REPORTED

In July 2014 the Armenian media outlets reported that an Azerbaijani "saboteur group" has been captured by the armed forces of Armenia in the occupied Kelbajar district of Azerbaijan. It was also reported that one of the Azerbaijanis showed resistance and was killed. No other details of the circumstances of detention of these Azerbaijanis were presented.

WHAT HAS ACTUALLY HAPPENED

Three Azerbaijani civilians, Dilgam Askerov from the occupied Kelbajar district, Shahbaz Guliyev from the occupied Terter district and Hasan Hasanov from the occupied Jebrail district of Azerbaijan, were captured by the Armed Forces of Armenia, while visiting peacefully the Shaplar village in the occupied Kelbajar district of Azerbaijan - the hometown of Dilgam. Hasan Hasanov was murdered under unknown circumstances. Following its usual pattern of behavior and degrading treatment of the prisoners of war, hostages and innocent civilians, Armenia refused to return the corpse of Mr. Hasanov to his relatives and hastily buried his remains in unknown location, in an effort to hide inhumane treatment and torture of the victim. After demarche from Azerbaijan, the ICRC started talks with the Armenian side to return Hasanov`s corpse to his relatives with no results yet. This is not the first time that Armenia refuses to return the remains of the killed Azerbaijani servicemen and civilians. The exact whereabouts of Dilgam Askerov and Shahbaz Guliyev and their health conditions are unknown.



WHERE IS KELBAJAR AND WHAT ARMENIA`S ARMED FORCES ARE DOING ON THE TERRITORY OF AZERBAIJAN IN FIRST PLACE?

Kelbajar is one of the seven districts adjacent to the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast that has been under belligerent occupation by the Armed Forces of Armenia since 1993. The international community condemned the armed attack and subsequent invasion of Kelbajar on 2 April 1993. After the occupation of Kelbajar the international community began expressing serious doubts about Armenia`s claims of noninvolvement in the conflict.1 This invasion prompted the UN Security Council to adopt Resolution 822, first in series of resolutions adopted by the Security Council related to the conflict. In this resolution the UNSC reaffirmed the respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and urged to respect the inviolability of international borders and the inadmissibility of the use of force for the acquisition of territory. The Resolution demanded immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces from the Kelbajar district and other recently occupied areas of Azerbaijan.2 The resolution in particular expressed grave concern at the displacement of a large number of civilians. In its resolution 853 the Security Council requests the UN Secretary General and relevant international agencies to assist displaced persons to return to their homes. To date Armenia has not complied with this and other resolutions of the UNSC.

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ARMENIA`S CLAIMS THAT THESE INNOCENT CIVILIANS ARE "SABOTEURS" ARE UNSUBSTANTIATED AND RIDICULOUS

The Minister of Defense of Armenia Seyran Ohanian claimed that the captured Azerbaijani civilians are "saboteurs" and "criminals" and cannot be considered Prisoners of War. He stated that they committed a crime pursuant to Armenian law and they will answer pursuant to the requirements of "our laws and international norms".3 This statement by a high-ranking Armenian official is yet another proof of Armenia`s direct military involvement in the conflict and that illegal separatist regime established in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan is under direct military command and control of the Armenia`s Armed Forces. These civilians cannot possibly be prosecuted based on the Armenian laws, because they were on the internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan, which is not under jurisdiction of the Armenia`s laws.

Realizing the absurdity of the situation and the consequences for Armenia for bringing Azerbaijani civilians to trial in Yerevan, later the Armenian side announced that these IDPs will be prosecuted in accordance with the "NKR Criminal Code" and that the so-called "NKR Prosecutor`s Office" put charges against them.4 These actions too are doomed to failure and will have no legal effects whatsoever, since only laws of Azerbaijan have jurisdiction on its internationally recognized territory. The European Court of Human Rights in its important admissibility decision in the `Elkhan Chiragov and Others v. Armenia` case concluded that `...the "NKR" is not recognised as a State under international law by any countries or international organizations... [and] the invoked laws cannot be considered legally valid...`.5

Even a quick look at the hastily fabricated "evidences" to present these IDPs as "saboteurs" show that they run contrary to military rules, go against all logic and human sense. It is ridiculous to assume that members of a Special Forces unit would disclose their personal profiles online and post in the internet their previous "missions". This is nothing more than yet another trick of Armenia to deceive the international community by drawing its attention away from the occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan and concealing the continuing atrocities committed by Armenia against Azerbaijani prisoners of war, hostages and ordinary civilians.

DILGAM ASKEROV MADE MANY SUCH TRIPS BEFORE AND POSTED VIDEOS ON "YOUTUBE"



Dilgam Askerov just like other hundreds of thousand IDPs expelled by Armenia from their native lands is naturally very attached to his home and, reportedly, for many years has been traveling to his hometown in the occupied Kelbajar district to visit his home and the graveyards of his parents. He posted videos from his trips on "You Tube", in which he did not shy away from describing the details of his trip, the places he visited, the mountain footpaths he used and the friends he took with him. In one of such videos dated 2009 he described his home village Shaplar in Kelbajar as "second Mecca", showing how emotionally he is attached to his place of origin. It is absurd to expect that someone alleged to be on a "intelligence-gathering" or "subversive" mission would report his trips online.



Dilgam askerov and his friends were posting real time videos online as they were walking around in the woods. It is absurd to imagine that a "subversive group" on a mission to collect intelligence and engage on a "subversive activity" would post videos online as they walked in the woods and build a bonfire to grill kebab. This is exactly what Dilgam and his friends were doing on a "mission" during this most recent trip.

"FABRICATED "EVIDENCES"

Dilgam Askerov`s previous videos show that he "travelled light" with a small backpack and a single-barrelled hunting rifle for self-defense. Armenia claims that he carried an AK mashine gun and Makarov pistol.





Different Armenian news outlets showed different pictures of different munitions as allegedly captured from Dilgam and his friends. This raises questions about authenticity of these images. Kitchen knives and common band-aid from local pharmacy that were displayed are not used in the Armed Forces, let alone in the Special Forces of Azerbaijan. The Armed Forces of Azerbaijan are equipped with more sophisticated and new weapons than those old guns. It is also absurd to believe that servicemen of a commando unit would take the Azerbaijani flag with them on a mission.

DILGAM ASKEROV AND HIS FRIENDS JUST LIKE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF OTHER IDPs NEVER ACCEPTED THE OCCUPATION OF THEIR LANDS



As a result of Armenia`s aggression and occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan, accompanied by the notorious practice of ethnic cleansing, around 750,000 Azerbaijani civilians were forced to flee for their lives from these territories. Only from the occupied Kelbajar district some 60,000 people became IDPs. Azerbaijanis never accepted the occupation of their homelands and have the right to return in dignity and safety to their homes in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and other areas of Azerbaijan.

Charging these innocent civilians with "illegally crossing state border" is absurd. Dilgam and his friends never crossed the international border of Azerbaijan. They were on the territory of Azerbaijan and were visiting their native lands.
By denying the detained civilians the basic rights and protections under the relevant Geneva Conventions, particularly the Geneva Conventions for Protection of War Victims of 1949, Armenia yet again violates international humanitarian law which the parties to the conflict are bound as stipulated by the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

As the result of Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan fate of more than 4000 Azerbaijani prisoners of war and hostages in the captivity of Armenia still remains unknown.

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