On October 4, 2020, at around 10 a.m. (GMT+4), rockets fired by Armenia hit a civilian settlement in the second largest city of Azerbaijan, including a two-storey building, as well as private houses.
As a result of the enemy’s bombing of Ganja, one civilian - Tunar Aliyev was killed and 32 civilians were injured. Along with houses, civil infrastructure and ancient historical buildings were damaged.
This missile attack by Armenia was the first serious attack outside the war-torn Karabakh region.
After the incident, Azerbaijani Prosecutor General Kamran Aliyev issued a statement. The statement said that the preliminary investigation had gathered enough evidence that the so-called "head" of the illegal entity in Karabakh Arayik Harutyunyan directly violated the requirements of the Geneva Convention and committed acts of deliberate killing of civilians and creating panic among the people.
“Therefore, I have initiated a criminal case against Arayik Harutyunyan under articles 100.1, 100.2 (planning, preparation, initiation or conduct of aggressive war), 116.0.1, 116.0.6, 116.0.7, 116.0.8-1 (violation of norms of international humanitarian law in the event of an armed conflict), 117.2 (giving a criminal order during an armed conflict), 120.2.1, 120.2.4, 120.2.12 (premeditated murder), 186.3 (deliberate destruction of property), 214.2.1, 214.2.3 (terrorism), 218.3 (creation of a criminal association (organization)), 279.3 (creation of armed groups not provided by law) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan and the investigation has been entrusted to the Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office," Kamran Aliyev noted.
During the Second Karabakh War, the Armenian armed forces attacked Ganja five times (on October 4, 5, 8, 11, and 17) with rockets and heavy artillery. As a result, 26 people were killed, 175 were injured, civilian infrastructure and vehicles in the city were severely damaged.
On October 3, 2023, the State Security Service of Azerbaijan detained the former leader of Karabakh separatists, Arayik Harutyunyan, one of those who personally ordered the missile attacks on the Azerbaijani city of Ganja.
More about: