BAKU, Azerbaijan, September
29. Persons currently abroad, who are accused of
committing grave crimes against Azerbaijan, can be held accountable
in the future, and cooperation with the relevant authorities of
other states is being pursued in this regard, the Prosecutor
General of Azerbaijan, Kamran Aliyev, said in a joint interview
with the Trend
News Agency and REAL TV.
"It’s not just about those specific individuals. In general,
relations within the framework of international law and cooperation
with the relevant agencies of other states are crucial and yield
tangible results. It's indeed possible for persons falling into the
category you mentioned to be held criminally liable, either now or
in the future. We are carrying out the necessary work in this
direction," he noted.
The Prosecutor General pointed out that some of the individuals
in question have already been held accountable. He linked the
holding of these legal proceedings to the conditions that emerged
following the liberation of the territories.
"Some persons falling into that category have been held
accountable. I must particularly note that the measures implemented
by President Ilham Aliyev - and his leadership as
Commander-in-Chief in achieving the complete liberation of the
territories and securing this victory - made it possible to conduct
those court proceedings," said Kamran Aliyev.
The Prosecutor General noted that the conduct of the
investigation and the trial also depended on prevailing
circumstances.
"In legal science, there is a concept known as 'investigative
situations.' This means that investigative tactics and the course
of the investigation, as well as the conduct of court proceedings,
depend on specific conditions arising within society.
Since the onset of the Karabakh conflict, prosecution officials
had been gathering evidence over a long period. This work was
carried out by staff serving during both earlier and later periods.
An evidentiary base existed, but the conditions were not yet
favorable for utilizing that evidence."
According to Kamran Aliyev, the opportunity to utilize the
gathered evidence and hold individuals accountable arose following
the military operations. He expressed hope that other persons
wanted in connection with the criminal case would also be held
accountable in the future.
"As you know, there are other participants in that criminal case
who are currently wanted. I hope it will be possible to hold them
accountable in the future as well," he noted.
The Prosecutor General also touched upon the experience of other
states. According to him, although law enforcement agencies in some
countries have gathered evidence regarding war crimes, they lack
the conditions to utilize that evidence in court proceedings.
"Such crimes have occurred in other states as well. I do not
wish to name specific countries, but if we look at our immediate
neighborhood, we see that the law enforcement and prosecutorial
authorities of those states have collected a great deal of evidence
regarding war crimes. However, they lack the capacity and
conditions to use this evidence and conduct the relevant court
proceedings," Aliyev added.
