Victim from Lachin: ‘Our village regularly shelled by Armenia before occupation’ - COURT

Court hearing on the criminal case against citizens of the Republic of Armenia Arayik Harutyunyan, Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Davit Ishkhanyan, Davit Babayan, Lyova Mnatsakanyan and others, who are accused of committing crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes, including the preparation and conduct of a war of aggression, acts of genocide, violation of the laws and customs of warfare, as well as terrorism, financing of terrorism, forcible seizure of power, forcible retention of power and numerous other crimes as a result of Armenia's military aggression, was continued on May 5, Report informs.

The hearing held at the Baku Military Court were presided over by Judge Zeynal Aghayev and a panel consisting of Jamal Ramazanov and Anar Rzayev (reserve judge Gunel Samadova). Each of the accused was provided with an interpreter into the language of their choice, as well as defense attorneys.

Present at the hearing were the accused persons and their defense attorneys, some of the victims, their legal successors and representatives, as well as prosecutors in charge of public prosecution.

Judge Zeynal Aghayev introduced the court session, interpreters, etc. to the victims participating in the process for the first time, and also explained their rights and duties provided by law.

First, another video material related to the occupation of the Khojavand district by the Armenian armed forces was examined in court. In the video footage taken by Armenians in April 1993, a group of Armenian army servicemen, including Serzh Sargsyan (President of Armenia from 2008-2018) and David Ishkhanyan, who is currently being tried in court, are seen in Azerbaijan's Khojavand district, which was under occupation by Armenian armed forces at that time.

During the examination of the Armenian-language video material through an interpreter, it was revealed that Serzh Sargsyan had come to inspect the military units.

In the video footage, Monte Melkonian reports to Serzh Sargsyan. In return, Sargsyan tells him, "The topic is not about stopping fire at this moment, but about offensive operations and capturing more territory."

The video material then shows an inspection of the area, with Sargsyan talking to Davit Ishkhanyan, who was the commander of the 28th Khojavand battalion at that time. Ishkhanyan provides him with information about the combat operation in the direction of Aghdam and the district's Abdal Gulabli, and about the operational situation.

The video footage then discusses the provision of troops. Afterward, Serzh Sargsyan talks with the soldiers for a while.

The prosecutors defending the state accusation addressed questions to the accused person, Davit Ishkhanyan, regarding the video material shown in court.

While answering the questions from the prosecutors defending the state accusation, Ishkhanyan said he remembered the filming of this video material and the purpose of Serzh Sargsyan's visit to the area: "They came to my battalion. They were getting acquainted with the situation at the battalion's positions."

He also listed the names of some of the people in the video: "Serzh Sargsyan, Monte Melkonian, Movses Akopyan (later the former chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces - ed.). He was Monte Melkonian's deputy at that time. The other person in the video is my chief of staff, Aramaiz Karapetyan.

The driver is standing in the back of the video. I don't remember exactly, he was either Movses Akopyan's or Monte Melkonian's driver."

In response to questions about Sezh Sargsyan's statements about "capturing more territory," Ishkhanyan noted: "I cannot comment on what Sargsyan said."

The accused, Davit Ishkhanyan, stated that the supplies for the battalion he commanded came from the headquarters of the "Khojavend defense district."

Ishkhanyan also emphasized that the battalion he commanded participated in combat operations in the direction of Aghdam in July-August 1993.

Subsequently, a video material about the occupation of the Lachin district by the Armenian armed forces was shown in court.

In the video material recorded by Armenians on May 18, 1992, burning houses in the Lachin district and a group of Armenian army servicemen are depicted. In the video, one Armenian serviceman points to one of the burning houses and says to another, "Ashot, see how it burns."

After this, the victims were questioned in court.

The victim, Jamal Mammadov, stated that he was a resident of Jijimli village in Lachin district, and that the village was occupied by Armenian armed forces in May 1992. He noted that his father, Mehti Mammadov was killed by Armenian soldiers on August 12, 1989, saying: "According to Russian soldiers, my father was shot by an Armenian named Kamo. I was 18 years old at that time."

The victim, Aghali Ibrahimov, stated that he was born in 1961 in the village of Jaghazur in Lachin district and lived in that village. He also stated that his village was occupied by Armenian armed forces in an armed attack on May 18, 1992.

The victim said that the village was located on the border with Armenia, and before the occupation, it was regularly shelled from the direction of Armenia's Gorus district, including from the village of Digh: "Until May 8, 1992, there was a sense of disorder in the Armenian attacks. But from May 8, the attacks were carried out under unified command. They especially used 'Grad', 'Alazan' rockets, and long-range artillery."

Ibrahimov stated that he had to leave behind his two-story house with six rooms in Jaghazur village, auxiliary buildings in the yard of his house, fruit trees, cattle and small livestock, poultry, and household items and property. That is, he suffered great damage.

Then, protocols regarding the massacre committed in the village of Balligaya in Goranboy district on August 28, 1992, were announced in court, and horrifying photos from the scene were displayed.

According to the documents, residents of the Naghdali village of Lachin district, who were temporarily resettled in the shacks nearby the Gulustan forest in the Balligaya village of the Goranboy district following the occupation of the Lachin district, were shot at by firearms by the Armenian armed forces on August 28, 1992 at approximately 05:00, as a result of which 24 people were killed and 9 were wounded.

Of those killed during the massacre, 7 were under-18, 4 were persons over 60 years, in total, 13 were women and 11 men.

Later, documents regarding the shooting of Azerbaijani residents in the village of Gulustan in Goranboy district on September 19, 1992, were examined in court. According to the documents, on that day, around 18:00, Armenian armed forces attacked residents who were harvesting potatoes in the village of Gulustan in Goranboy district. As a result, 20 civilians were killed by gunfire, and several people were injured.

When the village of Gulustan in Goranboy was attacked that day, employees of the district's Aghjakand police department resisted them with arms and were ambushed while evacuating civilians from the area. As a result, 13 people were killed and 8 were wounded. Among those killed, 2 were police officers, and 2 of the injured were also police officers.

The victim, Binnat Mehdiyev, stated that as a displaced person from Shusha city, he had settled in the village of Naghdali in Lachin district, which was occupied on May 17-18, 1992, after which they came to the village of Balliqgaya in Goranboy district.

Mehdiyev stated that on August 28, 1992, Armenian militants attacked, resulting in 24 people being killed. During the incident, his father, mother, two brothers, sister, and other close relatives were killed. "During the incident, they killed my relative Vazir's wife and 6 children. One of the children was a six-month-old baby," he added.

The victim, Shahla Guliyeva, said that in May 1992, as a displaced person from Lachin district, they first moved to the village of Bash Gishlag in Goranboy, and later to the village of Balligaya in the same district.

She said that on August 27, 1992, she saw a helicopter in the area and informed her mother-in-law about it: "That night we slept anxiously. On August 28, around 05:00, I saw that flames surrounded the area."

Guliyeva survived by chance because she went down from a hut on a height to a nearby forest at that time. She was wounded by a bullet during the incident.

She stated that during the incident, her mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, her mother-in-law's 110-year-old mother-in-law, and other relatives were killed.

The victim, Nasraddin Mustafayev, emphasized that on September 19, 1992, while he was harvesting potatoes in the Gulistan village of Goranboy district, they were fired upon by units of the Armenian army, resulting in a wound to his leg. He noted: "One-third of my toes are missing."

The victim, Sahiba Mustafayeva, stated that on September 19, 1992, she went to harvest potatoes in the Gulistan village of Goranboy with her father, Kazim and grandfather Salman, and while returning, their car, driven by her father, was fired upon by Armenian soldiers.

One bullet hit her father, and another hit her grandfather Salman.

Sahiba Mustafayeva, who was 12 years old at the time, received a gunshot wound to her leg and lost consciousness. She later learned that many people died as a result of the incident, including her grandfather Salman and father Kazim.

The victim, Nofal Nuruyev, noted that on September 19, 1992, on the instructions of his manager, Gafgaz Rustamov, he drove a "Zil" truck with Israfil Ismayilov, a resident of Tapgaragoyunlu village, and three unknown Azerbaijanis whom he picked up on the road, to harvest potatoes in the Gulistan village of Goranboy. There, he saw many other residents also harvesting potatoes. While returning, after passing the police checkpoint, Armenian soldiers suddenly opened fire on their vehicle in a forested area of the road. Police came to help and the shootout with Armenian soldiers continued.

As a result, he received a gunshot wound to his eye, and Israfil Ismayilov was killed. Currently, he cannot see with one eye. He later learned that approximately 20 Azerbaijanis were killed in the incident, and several others were wounded. Among the dead, he recognized Kazim Mammadov, a resident of Garagashli village, and his father-in-law, Salman Gojayev.

The victim, Khaladdin Rustamov, stated in his testimony that he worked as a police officer at the Ashaghi Aghjakand Police Department of Goranboy district and was on duty at the police post in Gulistan village on September 19, 1992.

Khaladdin Rustamov said that on that day, many Azerbaijani residents were harvesting potatoes in Gulistan village, and in the evening, as they were returning, the village was fired upon with firearms. As a result, he and police officer Jeyhun Teyyubov were injured, while Elkhan Suleymanov and Yavar Kazimov were killed.

The forensic medical examination reports of the victims were also announced during the court process.

The next court session is scheduled for May 8.

A total of 15 Armenian nationals are being charged with numerous crimes involving direct leadership and participation of the Armenian state, its state bodies, military forces and illegal armed formations, verbal and written instructions, orders and assignments, provision of material and technical support, central governance, as well as the exercise of rigorous control, with the aim of committing military aggression and acts of terror against the Republic of Azerbaijan in the territory of Azerbaijan in violation of domestic and international law, and involving Robert Sedraki Kocharyan, Serzh Azati Sargsyan, Vazgen Mikaeli Manukyan, Vazgen Zaveni Sargsyan, Samvel Andraniki Babayan, Vitali Mikaeli Balasanyan, Zori Hayki Balayan, Seyran Mushegi Ohanyan, Arshavir Surenovich Garamyan, Monte Charles Melkonyan and others, including criminal acts committed during the course of the war of aggression waged by the aforementioned criminal group.

The said persons, i.e. Arayik Vladimiri Harutyunyan, Arkadi Arshaviri Ghukasyan, Bako Sahaki Sahakyan, Davit Rubeni Ishkhanyan, David Azatini Manukyan, Davit Klimi Babayan, Levon Henrikovich Mnatsakanyan, Vasili Ivani Beglaryan, Erik Roberti Ghazaryan, Davit Nelsoni Allahverdiyan, Gurgen Homeri Stepanyan, Levon Romiki Balayan, Madat Arakelovich Babayan, Garik Grigori Martirosyan, Melikset Vladimiri Pashayan, are being charged under Articles 100 (planning, preparing, initiating and waging a war of aggression), 102 (attacking persons or organizations enjoying international protection), 103 (genocide), 105 (extermination of the population), 106 (enslaving), 107 (deportation or forced displacement of the population), 109 (persecution), 110 (enforced disappearance of people), 112 (deprivation of liberty contrary to international law), 113 (torture), 114 (mercenary service), 115 (violation of the laws and customs of warfare), 116 (violation of international humanitarian law during armed conflict), 118 (military robbery), 120 (intentional murder), 192 (illegal entrepreneurship), 214 (terrorism), 214-1 (financing terrorism), 218 (creation of a criminal association (organization)), 228 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation and possession of weapons, their components, ammunition, explosives and devices), 270-1 (acts threatening aviation security), 277 (assassination of a state official or public figure), 278 (forcible seizure and retention of power, forcible change of the constitutional structure of the state), 279 (creation of armed formations and groups not provided for by law) and other articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

11:56

A trial is underway at the Baku Judicial Complex for individuals of Armenian origin — former representatives of the separatist regime in Karabakh — who are accused of committing war crimes.

According to Report, the hearing is being presided over by Judge Zeynal Aghayev of the Baku Military Court.

It is noted that victims gave their testimonies at the previous session.