BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 7. The trial on the criminal case of Vagif Khachatryan, accused of committing genocide in Meshali village of Azerbaijan's Khojaly region, committed by members of Armenian illegal armed groups in 1990s, continues, Trend reports.
The trial in Baku Military Court on the case ended today. The prosecutor made an accusatory speech and proposed the court to sentence Vagif Khachatryan to 15 years of imprisonment.
In his speech, the prosecutor also explained why he demanded such a term for the defendant.
The fact is that the highest limit of punishment for genocide, of which Khachatryan is accused, is life imprisonment.
According to the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, persons who have reached the age of 65 before the sentence is passed are prohibited from serving a sentence of life imprisonment. Due to the fact that Vagif Khachatryan has already reached the age of 65, it is impossible to sentence him to life imprisonment.
In addition, according to the Azerbaijani legislation, the highest limit of punishment for serious crimes, in which persons over 65 years of age are accused, is 20 years of imprisonment. However, Vagif Khachatryan committed his criminal acts in 1991. The Azerbaijani legislation effective until 2014 provided for punishment of crimes against peace and war - from 10 to 15 years of imprisonment.
According to the international conventions to which Azerbaijan has acceded, a person should be punished in accordance with the legislation corresponding to the time when the crime was committed. That is, from the legal point of view, it is right that Vagif Khachatryan is punished not within the limits of sanctions provided for by the legislation in force, but in accordance with the Criminal Code in force at the time of committing the mentioned crime.
For this reason, the prosecutor in his speech demanded 15 years of imprisonment.
In December 1991, the criminal group, which included Khachatryan, killed 25 Azerbaijanis, wounded 14 people, and expelled 358 Azerbaijanis from their legal place of residence in Meshali village.
In connection with the emergence of sufficient grounded suspicions, a decision was made to bring Khachatryan as an accused under Articles 103 (genocide) and 107 (deportation or forced resettlement of the population) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
A measure of restraint in the form of detention was chosen against him.
About 59 people were recognized as victims in the criminal case.
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