Experts on the decision of the trial over Armenian "terrorists"

Baku/03.07.21/Turan: At the end of last year, a court announced decision in the case of a group of Armenian citizens detained in the Hadrut forests and convicted in Baku. On July 2, the Baku  Serious Crimes Court, chaired by judge Afgan Hajiyev, sentenced one of the 14 convicts to four years in prison, and the rest to six months.

The accused were charged under the Articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan: 214 (terrorism), 228 (illegal possession of weapons), 279 (creation or participation in illegal armed groups and attacks) and 318 (illegal crossing of the state border of Azerbaijan). However, yesterday the prosecutor proposed to drop other charges, find the citizens of Armenia guilty, and punish only under Article 318 of the Criminal Code.

Is this a fair decision of the court? Are there any political processes behind this? Agil Abbas, a member of the parliamentary committee for defense, security and anti-corruption, told Turan that he did not agree with the court's decision.

“The decision is not normal. Last year, the Armenians killed two soldiers and one civilian in the liberated regions. They planted mines, killing two journalists and one of the leaders. I disagree with this court decision. They even told the court that the Russian peacekeepers had left them unattended. Then they went to Hadrut, where the crime took place. That is, a terrorist act resulting in death. Now the prosecutor and the judge must explain why such a decision was made. Is it possible?" he said.

Elkhan Shahinoglu, head of the Atlas Research Center, told RFE/RL that the reasons for the trial are clear.

“Some time ago we handed over 15 people to Armenia, and in return we received maps of the mined regions of Agdam. At that time, it was a strategic step taken on the eve of the parliamentary elections in Armenia, and it clearly had a positive effect on Nikol Pashinyan's rating. The Armenian society saw that if Pashinyan remains in power, this issue between Armenia and Azerbaijan can be resolved,” he said. The political scientist believes that certain steps are being taken in this direction.

“Azerbaijan wants to negotiate with Armenia. Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov stated that Azerbaijan is ready at any time to start negotiations with Armenia, determine the border issue and sign a peace agreement. I think that the court's decision is a sign that in the coming days some of the defendants have been extradited to Armenia,” Shahinoglu said.-0-