BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. The criminal prosecution of Vagif Khachatryan, who was detained in connection with the events in the village of Meshali in the Khojaly district, complies with the norms of international and national law, Head of the Department of the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan Mahir Abbasov said, Trend reports.
"Persons who committed crimes against peace and humanity, as well as war crimes against our citizens, have been brought to criminal responsibility, and in accordance with the criminal legislation of Azerbaijan, court sentences have been announced against them, which have entered into legal force," he said.
Vagif Khachatryan's criminal prosecution, according to Abbasov, accords with both international and domestic legal standards.
He further emphasized that under present criminal law, crimes against peace and humanity, as well as war crimes, are exempt from the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution.
The investigation into the criminal case brought by the Military Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan under the pertinent articles of the Criminal Code regarding the facts of genocide, deportation of Azerbaijanis, and destruction of numerous properties belonging to rural residents and the state on December 22, 1991, in the village of Meshali (Khojaly district), is still ongoing.
Khachatryan was detained while trying to go to Armenia for treatment through the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The investigation established that Khachatryan, born in 1955, a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan, born in Badara village of Khojaly district and worked as a driver in Khankendi city automobile transport company, together with other people of Armenian nationality, used various weapons, including firearms and infantry fighting vehicles, to kill all Azerbaijani residents of Meshali village (Khojaly district) as a single national group.
Using various weapons, including firearms and infantry fighting vehicles, they attacked the village, killed 25 and injured 14 people of Azerbaijani nationality, and, contrary to national and international law norms, expelled 358 Azerbaijanis from their domicile.
In addition, Khachatryan continued his criminal actions together with his accomplices, destroying and damaging property belonging to the state and villagers, causing a total of over 5.96 million manat ($3.5 million) of material damage.
It was determined to include Khachatryan as an accused person under Articles 103 (massacre) and 107 (deportation or forcible relocation of the population) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan due to the existence of adequate reasonable suspicions surrounding the criminal case. But on November 12, 2013, the court's ruling resulted in the issuance of an international arrest order because the investigation was unaware of his whereabouts.