Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 21
Trend:
The Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office has appealed to the Swiss Prosecutor General's Office to criminally prosecute Swiss citizen Vartan Sirmakes, who is a co-founder and CEO of Franck Muller Group, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office said Oct. 21.
The Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office has revealed that Sirmakes with a group of people was engaged in illegal economic activity in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan to propagandize the illegal regime in these areas at the international level.
He took part in the opening ceremony of the gold mine in Veyneli village of the occupied Zangilan district without the consent of the relevant state body of Azerbaijan and without permission. He illegally crossed the state border, as well as committed malevolent acts, calling into question the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan.
A criminal case was filed in the Investigation Department for Heinous Crimes of the Prosecutor General's Office under articles 318.2, 281.2 and 192.2.2 of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code.
The operative-investigative actions are being taken.
The files were sent to the Prosecutor General's Office and the foreign ministry by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Economic Development.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Edited by CN