BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 30. The Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General's Office has conducted an investigation based on the appeal of the Community of Western Azerbaijan Public Union, Azerbaijan's State Committee for Affairs of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, and the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons, the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office told Trend.
According to the documents stored in the National Archive Department of Azerbaijan, from the beginning of the XX-th century, armed formations created under the leadership of people of Armenian origin committed crimes against humanity, against people of Azerbaijani origin living in the lands of Western Azerbaijan.
Armenian armed formations destroyed 32 villages in the Irevan district of the Irevan province, 84 villages in the Echmiadzin district, 7 villages in the Novo-Bayazid district and 75 villages in the Surmali district until March 1918. A total of 135,000 Azerbaijanis were subjected to genocide and forced deportation.
Following the same criminal purpose, in 1948–1953, more than 150,000 Azerbaijanis were massively and forcibly evicted from their native lands on the territory of the Armenian SSR. Thousands of people, including old people and babies, unable to withstand the difficult conditions of resettlement, sudden climatic changes, and physical and mental shocks, have died.
In addition, during 1988–1992, those crimes systematically continued. Over 250,000 Azerbaijanis from 185 settlements in the Western Azerbaijan were deported and subjected to persecution and forced eviction from their native lands by the Armenian government, the "Karabakh" and "Krunk" committees. Furthermore, 216 Azerbaijanis were killed by the Armenian armed forces with particular cruelty.
Since these facts are crimes envisaged by international and domestic legislation, the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan initiated a criminal case under Articles 103 (genocide), 107 (deportation or forced resettlement), 109 (harassment), 120.2.4 (deliberate murder with special cruelty), and 120.2.7 (murder of two or more persons) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The investigation is entrusted to the relevant department of the Prosecutor General's Office.
During the preliminary investigation of a criminal case, it is envisaged to send applications for legal assistance to the Prosecutor's Offices of foreign countries and to cooperate with international organizations.