Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 24
Trend:
About 78,000 investigative actions were carried out on criminal cases related to crimes committed by Armenians against Azerbaijanis, said Ulvi Ahmadov, member of the Joint Investigative Group of Azerbaijan's General Prosecutor's Office, Interior Ministry and State Security Service.
Over 7,000 people have been testified as witnesses, about 26,000 people - as affected individuals, and 809 different expertises were scheduled, according to him.
Ahmadov noted that a preventive measure in the form of arrest has been chosen for 296 people and documents have been directed to the relevant authorities.
"Among the 296 accused there are three Russians, one Ukrainian, 18 people - soldiers of the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops (14 of them Armenians), 18 people - members of internal affairs agencies, 11 - employees of the former KGB (Committee for State Security of the Soviet Union)," said Ahmadov adding that the others worked in the former party and government bodies, in the spheres of education, catering, transport, agriculture and others.
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 withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.