Vagif Khachatryan
Baku/17.10.23/Turan: Baku Military Court today started today hearings on the merits of the criminal case of Vagif Khachatryan, accused of mass murder of residents of Meshyali village of Khojaly region in December 1991.
At the beginning of the hearing, his lawyer was replaced, as Natik Beybalayev stated that he had to go abroad for medical treatment. Radmilla Abdulova was the lawyer instead. The defendant did not object to the change of defence counsel.
Next, the indictment was read out. The prosecutor also named the names of about 30 other defendants accused of committing crimes against the residents of Meshyali.
At the same time Khachatryan stated that he does not plead guilty to the charges. He claims that he did not participate "in any crimes against Azerbaijanis". The words of the defendant caused outrage in the courtroom. There are 59 victims in the case.
Vagif Khachatryan was detained on 29 July at the Lachyn border checkpoint while trying to leave for Armenia. He was wanted in a criminal case opened in Azerbaijan due to the events of 22 December 1991, when a group of armed Armenians attacked the village of Meshyali in the Khojaly region.
Khachatryan and his accomplices killed 25 people of Azerbaijani nationality, inflicted various degrees of bodily injuries on 14 persons, and expelled 358 Azerbaijanis from their places of legal residence.
Khachatryan was brought as an accused under Article 103 (genocide) and 107 (deportation or forced resettlement of population) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. -06В-
Politics
-
On November 14, the House of Commons of the UK Parliament held a hearing on "Academic Freedom and Corruption in Azerbaijan's Energy Sector," focusing on the issue of political prisoners in Azerbaijan. The event, organized in collaboration with Global Witness and the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, was moderated by Joe Powell, head of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Anti-Corruption.
-
Head of the External Relations and Security Service of the EU Josep Borrel rejected the accusations against him and European countries made by the head of Azerbaijan at the COP29 conference the previous day.
-
On Thursday, President Ilham Aliyev received the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, who arrived to participate in the COP29 climate conference.
-
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) today issued five rulings on applications from Azerbaijan. The case of "Afgan Mammadov v. Azerbaijan" concerned the complainant's exclusion from the Bar Association. Mammadov was expelled based on a complaint filed by a colleague, which he considered unjust. The ECHR ruled that Mammadov's rights had been violated and ordered Azerbaijan to pay him €5,000 in compensation for moral damage and €1,000 to cover legal costs.
Leave a review