Criminal Case Begun on Illegal Excavations in Occupied Territories

Baku / 17.11.20 / Turan: “Since 2002, Armenians have illegally carried out archaeological excavations in the Azykh cave camp of the Paleolithic era in the Khojavend region with the involvement of foreign scientists. This was done without the permission of the relevant authorities of Azerbaijan. The finds were transported to Armenia”. This is stated in the appeal of the staff of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of ANAS to the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan.

This is called the plundering of the monuments of the material and cultural heritage of Azerbaijan by the Armenian archeologists.

“Since 2005, the staff of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences of Armenia conducted excavations near the Shahbulag fortress in the Agdam region. Since 2006, this work has been supervised by Hamlet Petrosyan, the head of the Faculty of Cultural Studies at Yerevan State University. These excavations continued until July 2020.

The Armenians constantly announced to the world media about the discovery of the fictitious "city of Tigranakert", conducting archaeological excavations, claiming that these areas are "ancient territories of Armenians."

In 2010, they created the "Tigranakert Archaeological Museum" in the Shahbulag fortress, which is an integral part of the history of Azerbaijan, the document says.

The appeal noted that the Armenians and their colleagues from other countries violated the Azerbaijani legislation and the norms of international law, conducting illegal excavations in the occupied territories.

The scientists ask the Prosecutor General to initiate criminal proceedings against Armenians and researchers from other countries who collaborated with them, and to ensure the return to Azerbaijan of all illegally exported finds from the occupied territories.

In turn, the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office reported that the Investigation Department of the Office has begun a criminal case in connection with the appeal of the archaeologists. The public will be informed about the progress and results of the investigation.   –06D-