Category: 2022

By Sabina Mammadli

Two Armenians charged with committing terror in Kalbajar, liberated from Armenian occupation in the 2020 second Karabakh war, have been sentenced to nearly 20 years in jail.

The judicial board’s decision was revealed during the trial at the administrative building of Baku’s Sabunchu district court.

Ishkhan Sargsyan was sentenced to 19 years and Vladimir Rafaelyan to 18 years in jail.

Under the verdict, the accused will serve nine years in jail and the remainder of their sentences in a strict regime colony. They will depart Azerbaijan after serving their sentences.

During the trial, which was presided over by Ganja Grave Crimes Court judge Elmin Rustamov, the defendants’ lawyers and later the defendants themselves presented remarks.

Earlier, the prosecutor urged the court to sentence Sargsyan to 20 years in jail and Rafaelyan to 19 years.

The indictment stated that at about 03:00 on May 27, 2021, the commander of the group in the military unit of the Armenian Defence Ministry special intelligence forces Ishkhan Sargsyan and Vladimir Rafaelyan, who served in the military as sapper engineers illegally crossed Azerbaijan’s state border in the direction of Kalbajar region, where the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry units are deployed, and mined the roads passing through Yukhari Ayrim village. These persons were arrested at the scene of the crime. Some 23 TM 62-M and E-00-M-type mines were detected and confiscated from them.

It should be noted that in a criminal case initiated by the State Security Service, Sargsyan and Rafaelyan were charged under Azerbaijani Criminal Code Articles 214.2.3 (terrorism committed with the use of firearms and objects used as weapons), 228 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation, or carrying weapons, components for them, ammunition, explosives, and explosive devices), 318 (illegal crossing of Azerbaijan’s state border), and 282 (sabotage).

Azerbaijan and Armenia resumed their second war on September 27, 2020, when Armenia began firing on Azerbaijani civilians and military positions. The war came to an end on November 10, when the leaders of Azerbaijan, Russia, and Armenia signed a trilateral cease-fire agreement.

The Azerbaijani army declared victory over the Armenian forces. The agreement required Armenia to withdraw its troops from Azerbaijani territory that it had occupied since the early 1990s.

In the war unleashed by Armenia, Azerbaijan’s Ganja, Barda, Yevlakh, Beylagan, Tartar, Gabala, Goranboy, Aghjabadi, Khizi and other cities and regions, fairly far from the war zone, came under Armenia’s missile and artillery fire.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have confirmed that Armenia used prohibited cluster bombs and missiles in its attacks on Azerbaijani cities.

As a result, 100 Azerbaijani civilians, including 12 children and 27 women, were killed. There were 454 people injured, including 35 children. One hundred and eighty-one children lost one parent, five children lost both parents, and one family died. In total, 12,292 residential and non-residential structures, as well as 288 vehicles, were damaged.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a letter to President of France Emmanuel Macron, Azertag has reported. 

Dear Mr. President,

Thank you for your letter to me on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the French Republic. In my turn, I would also like to sincerely congratulate you and the people of France on this significant occasion and convey my best wishes.

The Treaty of Friendship, Mutual Understanding and Cooperation signed between Azerbaijan and France in 1993 defined the basic principles and vectors for the development of our bilateral relations. Azerbaijan has always adhered to these principles and tried to establish equal and mutually beneficial cooperation with France.

Over the past period, Azerbaijani-French relations have developed dynamically. Fruitful cooperation has been established and good achievements have been made in many areas. Today, French companies are heavily involved in the economic life of Azerbaijan, the French Lyceum and the French-Azerbaijani University are successfully operating in Baku. I would like to emphasize the attention being paid to the development of cultural ties between our countries under the direct leadership of Mehriban Aliyeva. I believe that the development of our mutually beneficial cooperation in the economic, cultural, educational and other fields will continue to serve the well-being of our peoples and countries.

The Republic of Azerbaijan, where peoples of different civilizations, cultures and religions have historically lived together and in harmony, is a state pursuing an independent policy based on the will and interests of the people. Azerbaijan has restored its territorial integrity by ending the occupation of its historical and ancient lands by Armenia and implemented UN Security Council resolutions. The end of the 30 years of aggression has created opportunities for cooperation in the region in accordance with the new geopolitical reality. In this regard, the opening of transport and communication lines ushers ample economic opportunities for our region.

I believe that our quadripartite meeting and talks initiated by France as the current President of the European Union provided a good opportunity for building confidence in the region and ensuring lasting peace and stability.

Azerbaijan is a supporter of peace. We are ready to start negotiations on a peace agreement with Armenia on the basis of fundamental principles of international law such as territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of internationally recognized borders. Emphasizing the importance of Armenia’s constructive stance on this issue, we do hope that France will support the peace agenda in the region.

Dear Mr. President,

At present, the main task facing Azerbaijan is to restore the territories completely destroyed as a result of many years of occupation. We appreciate France’s support for the demining process in our liberated territories. At the same time, we welcome the attention your country has been paying to clarifying the fate of about 4,000 of our compatriots who went missing during the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

As a member of UNESCO and in accordance with its Charter, Azerbaijan has repeatedly stated its intention to host the organization’s mission in its territory over the past decades. We are ready to see the UNESCO mission in our country soon based on respect for the sovereign right of the member state.

Azerbaijan attaches great importance to the diversification of cooperation with the European Union, as well as the expansion of relations and dialogue with member countries. We express our confidence that these relations will be further strengthened in the coming months within the framework of your country’s presidency in the European Union.

Please accept the assurances of my highest consideration.

Ilham Aliyev

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Baku, 7 March 2022