"Terter case": The state leadership before choosing

Zahid Oruc, Chairman of the Milli Majlis Committee on Human Rights, speaking at the plenary session of the Parliament held on Friday, also touched upon the topic of the “Terter case”. He stated that the acquittal of 19 persons convicted by the decision of the General Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan for espionage in favor of Armenia is a triumph of justice. He criticized the officials whose names are mentioned in this case. The MP said that each of the persons involved in this case is responsible. The MP also proposed to abolish the military prosecutor's office.

MP Ganira Pashayeva also spoke about those who were acquitted as a result of the investigation related to the "Terter case" and blamed those who made the wrong decisions regarding our military. She stated that those who convicted innocent people for espionage, those who participated in this process, should apologize not only to the military personnel themselves, their families, but also to the MPs.

Hearing such speeches from the parliamentary rostrum in connection with the "Terter case", as well as criticism of those responsible for this event, is an extraordinary phenomenon. This allows us to conclude that if the MPs started talking about this, serious decisions can be made in the near future regarding those who committed these acts.

ASTNA's questions on this topic were answered by security expert, political commentator Arastun Orujlu.

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Question: What does the expression of opinions and appeals in connection with the “Terter case”, criticism of the officials involved in this case indicate in the parliament?

Answer: First of all, I would like to note that the removal of this charge from more than 40 of our military arrested on charges of treason as a result of the “Terter massacre”, the justification of their absolute majority is an unprecedented event in the history of Azerbaijan. Although the crime itself was just as rare a provocation. When we started publicizing this atrocious crime, that is, 4-5 years ago, or when a re-investigation was scheduled a year ago, and even a month ago, not only we, almost no one believed that this would happen. Back then, in my first article about this crime, I indicated that its disclosure and judicial investigation would depend on political will. Already today it can be said with certainty that the steps taken towards a legal assessment of the "Terter massacre" are clearly the result of political will. The calls made in Parliament were also signs of the expression of this political will. In fairness, it must be said that earlier some deputies spoke about this crime, but so openly, as only Fazil Mustafa and Vahid Ahmedov spoke this time. The last speeches were more like an announcement, despite the fact that in these speeches for some reason there were often calls for those who committed the crime to “apologise”.

Question: Can any of these officials be dismissed or arrested in the near future? Or will they just apologise?

Answer: Kamran Bey, the “Terter case” is a serious crime against the Azerbaijani state and people, an integral part of a hybrid war against our country, an insidious provocation planned and carried out from the outside that threatened the existence of the state and people. And confine oneself to apologies? What can I say?! Such appeals of the deputies caused considerable confusion and a harsh reaction among the people. Because, on the one hand, to say - "now it is clear who is betraying the state", and on the other hand to make an appeal "sorry!", seems somewhat strange. Yes, those who committed the Terter crime committed high treason and therefore must serve their sentences as provided for by the country's legislation. Therefore, there will be not only dismissed, but also arrested and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment. At least that's how it should be. It is not easy to say when this will happen, but I think the sooner this happens, the less painful it will be for the country.

Question: Can these steps be a scenario to calm people down?

Answer: Such a scenario does not seem plausible. As mentioned above, only a few believed that there would be a current result, but as a result, charges of serious crimes were dropped from more than 40 people, most of them on acquittal grounds. This decision also raises logical questions. The first and most important questions are as follows: - who will answer for dozens of those who were under arrest for almost 6 years, for hundreds of those who were tortured, and finally for 14 brutally murdered people, for the severe moral, material and physical suffering that they and their family members had to go through? Finally, who will be responsible for the damage to the state, for the vile slander of the people? And the answer is obvious: customers, organizers and perpetrators of the crime. Who they are is already known to almost everyone thanks to the ongoing public discussions. A comprehensive investigation, I am sure, will make it easy to establish the involvement of each of these persons in the crime and the measure of responsibility. And, finally, if a step had been taken towards appeasement, then at least there would not have been so many acquittals. The issue would be resolved by amnesty or otherwise.

Question: Does the authorities have the political will to fully disclose this case?

Answer: What has happened up to this stage, as already mentioned, is the result of political will, and in my opinion, the basis for the next steps has already been laid. However, it should be accepted that everything is not as simple and unambiguous as we would like. On the one hand, the geopolitical situation that has developed around Azerbaijan dictates the full disclosure of this case, but at the same time, this same factor creates certain risks. In this case, the authorities must make a choice: either those who committed the “Terter crime” will be urgently neutralized, and the authorities will receive unambiguous broad support from the people, or the authorities will lose confidence and faith in themselves. So the decision here is to be made by the authorities themselves. In my opinion, the authorities have the political will to resolve the issue, if not completely, then at least to a significant extent, and if it is, then this will manifest itself in the near future. However, one thing is clear, everyone knows about the military atrocities committed in Terter against our military and betrayal of the state. And this means that the government faces a serious choice. It is obvious that the criminal gang, dissatisfied with the latest decisions, is trying to show its teeth to the authorities, and this cannot be overlooked. It is obvious, however, that a government that has made a just decision will receive the full support of the people. The fate of those who bared their teeth at the authorities with such support is clear.

Question: Will there be complete clarity in this matter in the near future?

Answer: Yes, in the near future it will be completely clear and all the necessary steps for this have already been taken.