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Azerbaijan makes public content of bill to be prepared on Khojaly genocide

28 November 2016 09:45 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Mubariz Aslanov -APA. Azerbaijan has announced the content of a bill to be prepared on the Khojaly genocide, which is one of the bloodiest crimes in the history of mankind.

The new bill shall be prepared and submitted by Azerbaijan’s Milli Mejlis (parliament) within three months, Nizami Safarov, head of the department on administrative and military legislation at the parliament’s Office, said at a parliamentary meeting on Nov. 28.

According to him, there is no such a law in the legal system of Azerbaijan.

“We have studied the international experience. There is a fundamental basis for this law – the study of existing laws, international criminal tribunals and judicial precedents in the developed countries,” Safarov said, adding. “International crime covers aggression, crimes against humanity, war crimes, acts of genocide and acts of ethnic cleansing that are not mentioned in the documents as an international crime. It will be reflected in the new bill.”

He noted that the crime of ethnic cleansing is not reflected in the legislation of any country.

“We are going to achieve such a legal basis in this bill. In addition, the bill will also envisage the extradition of the perpetrators of international crimes and their transfer to a second state or an international tribunal. The bill will even address the issue of what measures can be taken by the Azerbaijani government in case of non-implementation of the abovementioned,” said Safarov.

On February 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops stationed in Khankendi committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly.

As many as 613 people were killed, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed as a result of the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. A total of 487 civilians became disabled as a result of the onslaught. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people remains unknown.