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Azerbaijani convicted are not war prisoners but saboteurs
April 3 2015
According to Karen Ohanjanyan, their goal was to collect data on
Nagorno-Karabakh security and to collapse the national security
syastem Recently, the official Baku has pretty intensified the issue
of the two Azerbaijani subversives. In June 29, 2014, the Azerbaijani
citizens Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilham Askerov, as well as the killed
Hasan Hasanov, armed with weapons, had illegally crossed the NKR state
border and penetrated the Shahumyan region of Armenia for the purpose
of intelligence operations. These individuals had a special mission to
gather information and conduct intelligence operations. On July 4,
with the help of the use of a weapon, they kidnapped NKR minor Smbat
Tsakanyan, whose body was found with gunshot wounds on July 15. On
December 29, the Court of First Instance Court of the city of
Stepanakert issued the verdict against Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilgam
Askerov. Askerov was sentenced to life imprisonment, and Guliyev - to
22 years in prison for spying, crossing the NK state border without
proper authorization, illegal carrying of firearms and ammunition,
evident kidnapping of a person and the murder. These saboteurs were
the first who after the declared independence were subjected to
judicial proceedings in Karabakh by the Court of First Instance of
General Jurisdiction. The official Stepanakert periodically reports
that their trial was held in accordance with international laws, open
and transparent, and they had lawyers. Azerbaijan, obviously, is
working with the OSCE Minsk Group mediator countries through
diplomatic channels to return the Azerbaijani subversives. Still in
January this year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was summing
up the Russian diplomatic year for 2014, and during the press
conference, an Azerbaijani reporter asked him about the fate of
Askerov, noting that allegedly he is a citizen of the Russian
Federation. Lavrov's answer was obvious that he actually did not know
whom the subject was about. He noted that since he was arrested by the
Armenian side, therefore, they will discuss the issue with the
Armenian side. "As you said, he was arrested by the Armenian side. In
this case, we will discuss the matter with the Armenian side. We have
not few number of citizens who are arrested in different countries of
the world. We are always interested in their fate." Basically, Lavrov
was not aware that a few months ago, the Russian Ambassador to
Azerbaijan Vladimir Dorokhin had sent a letter to Milli Majlis
Vice-Speaker Bahar Muradova, in which he stated that there are no RF
citizens among the Azerbaijani captives by Armenians. Later on, the US
State Department official representative Jen Psaki has addressed this
topic. "We also urged relevant authorities to return the two prisoners
to the Government of Azerbaijan. The sides have generally found a way
in the past to return prisoners as a humanitarian gesture, and such
humanitarian gestures have been shown to reduce tensions and build
trust between the sides." Then US Assistant Secretary of State
Victoria Nuland raised the issue of returning Shahbaz Guliyev and
Dilgam Askerov. Winner of international prizes for human rights and
peace, Coordinator of the Nagorno-Karabakh Committee "Helsinki
Initiative-92", President of "Social Justice" party Karen Ohanjanyan,
on March 31, visited the citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan, D.
Askerov and Sh. Guliyev, detained in one of the detention cells of the
NKR National Security Service, who are convicted of killing a citizen
of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh and conducting intelligence
activities in the Karvachar region, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. "The
inspection of the detention cell, sanitary conditions, medical
services, quality of food, as well as the availability of information
and literature was studied. We talked to each convicted individually
for about 3 hours, during which they expressed their satisfaction with
the conditions. The examination showed that the convicted D. Askerov's
and Sh. Guliyev's conditions are in full compliance with international
law, and the NKR government authorities do everything to prevent any
violation of the norm," said the statement issued by K. Ohanjanyan.
"Aravot" was interested to learn for Karen Ohanjanyan about how he
treats the official Baku's actions to return the Azerbaijani
subversives. "Each state's duty is to protect its citizens' interests
by all means. Azerbaijani posture is quite logical and understandable.
The posture of our government authorities and the majority of our
society is also logical and clear understandable that they refuse
returning the Azerbaijani convicted citizens to Baku, moreover, that
the Azerbaijani citizens have been found guilty of the NKR minor and
for conducting sabotage and espionage activities against our country.
Their actions were directed against humanity and were a threat to the
maintenance of security of NKR citizens," noted K. Ohanjanyan. In
response to our question of under what conditions the saboteurs, first
time convicted in NKR and detained in one of the detention cells of
the NKR National Security Service, are today in the prison, Karen
Ohanjanyan replied, "It is worth mentioning that the leadership of the
NKR National Security Service held pretty much responsibility for
ensuring conditions in compliance with international laws for the
Azerbaijani convicted citizens kept in the detention cell. We
mentioned in the statement after visiting them that everything
starting from the cell - sanitary conditions, medical services,
quality of food, as well as the availability of information and
literature is fully in line with the norms of international law. As a
human rights activist, one of my employment duties was to visit
numerous people kept in prison around the world, and with full
responsibility, I can record the fact that the conditions of the
Azerbaijani detainees in Nagorno-Karabakh in no way yield the
conditions of the detainees in many developed countries." Obviously,
the Azerbaijan government authorities are working on the return of the
Azerbaijani subversives through the OSCE Minsk Group countries. We
asked the Karabakh-resident human right activist whether it is
possible that the Armenian side, the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities,
however, would be forced to return them, K. Ohanjanyan noted, "I do
not think that as of today, conditions are created, under which it is
possible to return the Azerbaijani citizens convicted in our territory
to Azerbaijan. We should not forget that the convicted are not
prisoners of war, but the subversives whose goal was to collect data
on the security of NKR and to collapse the national security syastem.
Their activities were aimed at reducing the level of security for our
citizens, and along with it, their actions carried criminal
terroristic character. Therefore, I do not think that the
international organizations should draw such conditions to the NKR
government authorities pertaining to the return of the saboteurs to
Azerbaijan. Although I do not exclude that at some moment, the NKR
leadership might demonstrate a gesture of goodwill. I also would like
to mention that it would be more logical if the Azerbaijan leadership
would personally apply to the Nagorno-Karabakh government authorities
regarding the fate of its citizens." Recently, in the interview with
Yerkir.am, the NKR President's spokesman David Babayan suggested
handing over Safarov to the Armenian side. "Perhaps, it will make a
new turning point in the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict settlement
process. Why would anyone say to hand over Safarov to the Armenian
side? Half-jokingly and half-serious, they say, maybe we can exchange
one of these subversives with Safarov, maybe this exchange will be an
option for the development of an atmosphere of mutual trust or a
concession." To the question of whether it is possible that the
situation will be so serious that the NKR authorities would actually
demand Safarov in return to Azerbaijani subversives, "I do not think
that David Babayan was serious when talking about it, and hardly such
a thing is possible," said the Karabakh-origin human rights activist.
Emma GABRIELYAN
http://en.aravot.am/2015/04/03/169575/
April 3 2015
According to Karen Ohanjanyan, their goal was to collect data on
Nagorno-Karabakh security and to collapse the national security
syastem Recently, the official Baku has pretty intensified the issue
of the two Azerbaijani subversives. In June 29, 2014, the Azerbaijani
citizens Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilham Askerov, as well as the killed
Hasan Hasanov, armed with weapons, had illegally crossed the NKR state
border and penetrated the Shahumyan region of Armenia for the purpose
of intelligence operations. These individuals had a special mission to
gather information and conduct intelligence operations. On July 4,
with the help of the use of a weapon, they kidnapped NKR minor Smbat
Tsakanyan, whose body was found with gunshot wounds on July 15. On
December 29, the Court of First Instance Court of the city of
Stepanakert issued the verdict against Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilgam
Askerov. Askerov was sentenced to life imprisonment, and Guliyev - to
22 years in prison for spying, crossing the NK state border without
proper authorization, illegal carrying of firearms and ammunition,
evident kidnapping of a person and the murder. These saboteurs were
the first who after the declared independence were subjected to
judicial proceedings in Karabakh by the Court of First Instance of
General Jurisdiction. The official Stepanakert periodically reports
that their trial was held in accordance with international laws, open
and transparent, and they had lawyers. Azerbaijan, obviously, is
working with the OSCE Minsk Group mediator countries through
diplomatic channels to return the Azerbaijani subversives. Still in
January this year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was summing
up the Russian diplomatic year for 2014, and during the press
conference, an Azerbaijani reporter asked him about the fate of
Askerov, noting that allegedly he is a citizen of the Russian
Federation. Lavrov's answer was obvious that he actually did not know
whom the subject was about. He noted that since he was arrested by the
Armenian side, therefore, they will discuss the issue with the
Armenian side. "As you said, he was arrested by the Armenian side. In
this case, we will discuss the matter with the Armenian side. We have
not few number of citizens who are arrested in different countries of
the world. We are always interested in their fate." Basically, Lavrov
was not aware that a few months ago, the Russian Ambassador to
Azerbaijan Vladimir Dorokhin had sent a letter to Milli Majlis
Vice-Speaker Bahar Muradova, in which he stated that there are no RF
citizens among the Azerbaijani captives by Armenians. Later on, the US
State Department official representative Jen Psaki has addressed this
topic. "We also urged relevant authorities to return the two prisoners
to the Government of Azerbaijan. The sides have generally found a way
in the past to return prisoners as a humanitarian gesture, and such
humanitarian gestures have been shown to reduce tensions and build
trust between the sides." Then US Assistant Secretary of State
Victoria Nuland raised the issue of returning Shahbaz Guliyev and
Dilgam Askerov. Winner of international prizes for human rights and
peace, Coordinator of the Nagorno-Karabakh Committee "Helsinki
Initiative-92", President of "Social Justice" party Karen Ohanjanyan,
on March 31, visited the citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan, D.
Askerov and Sh. Guliyev, detained in one of the detention cells of the
NKR National Security Service, who are convicted of killing a citizen
of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh and conducting intelligence
activities in the Karvachar region, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. "The
inspection of the detention cell, sanitary conditions, medical
services, quality of food, as well as the availability of information
and literature was studied. We talked to each convicted individually
for about 3 hours, during which they expressed their satisfaction with
the conditions. The examination showed that the convicted D. Askerov's
and Sh. Guliyev's conditions are in full compliance with international
law, and the NKR government authorities do everything to prevent any
violation of the norm," said the statement issued by K. Ohanjanyan.
"Aravot" was interested to learn for Karen Ohanjanyan about how he
treats the official Baku's actions to return the Azerbaijani
subversives. "Each state's duty is to protect its citizens' interests
by all means. Azerbaijani posture is quite logical and understandable.
The posture of our government authorities and the majority of our
society is also logical and clear understandable that they refuse
returning the Azerbaijani convicted citizens to Baku, moreover, that
the Azerbaijani citizens have been found guilty of the NKR minor and
for conducting sabotage and espionage activities against our country.
Their actions were directed against humanity and were a threat to the
maintenance of security of NKR citizens," noted K. Ohanjanyan. In
response to our question of under what conditions the saboteurs, first
time convicted in NKR and detained in one of the detention cells of
the NKR National Security Service, are today in the prison, Karen
Ohanjanyan replied, "It is worth mentioning that the leadership of the
NKR National Security Service held pretty much responsibility for
ensuring conditions in compliance with international laws for the
Azerbaijani convicted citizens kept in the detention cell. We
mentioned in the statement after visiting them that everything
starting from the cell - sanitary conditions, medical services,
quality of food, as well as the availability of information and
literature is fully in line with the norms of international law. As a
human rights activist, one of my employment duties was to visit
numerous people kept in prison around the world, and with full
responsibility, I can record the fact that the conditions of the
Azerbaijani detainees in Nagorno-Karabakh in no way yield the
conditions of the detainees in many developed countries." Obviously,
the Azerbaijan government authorities are working on the return of the
Azerbaijani subversives through the OSCE Minsk Group countries. We
asked the Karabakh-resident human right activist whether it is
possible that the Armenian side, the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities,
however, would be forced to return them, K. Ohanjanyan noted, "I do
not think that as of today, conditions are created, under which it is
possible to return the Azerbaijani citizens convicted in our territory
to Azerbaijan. We should not forget that the convicted are not
prisoners of war, but the subversives whose goal was to collect data
on the security of NKR and to collapse the national security syastem.
Their activities were aimed at reducing the level of security for our
citizens, and along with it, their actions carried criminal
terroristic character. Therefore, I do not think that the
international organizations should draw such conditions to the NKR
government authorities pertaining to the return of the saboteurs to
Azerbaijan. Although I do not exclude that at some moment, the NKR
leadership might demonstrate a gesture of goodwill. I also would like
to mention that it would be more logical if the Azerbaijan leadership
would personally apply to the Nagorno-Karabakh government authorities
regarding the fate of its citizens." Recently, in the interview with
Yerkir.am, the NKR President's spokesman David Babayan suggested
handing over Safarov to the Armenian side. "Perhaps, it will make a
new turning point in the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict settlement
process. Why would anyone say to hand over Safarov to the Armenian
side? Half-jokingly and half-serious, they say, maybe we can exchange
one of these subversives with Safarov, maybe this exchange will be an
option for the development of an atmosphere of mutual trust or a
concession." To the question of whether it is possible that the
situation will be so serious that the NKR authorities would actually
demand Safarov in return to Azerbaijani subversives, "I do not think
that David Babayan was serious when talking about it, and hardly such
a thing is possible," said the Karabakh-origin human rights activist.
Emma GABRIELYAN
http://en.aravot.am/2015/04/03/169575/