Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
June 10 2006

Prosecutor-General Zakir Garalov: No Armenian prisoner of war is held
in Azerbaijan, we are ready to investigate if Armenia has evidence

[ 10 Jun. 2006 10:22 ]

Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor-General Zakir Garalov received the delegation
led by Leo Platvoet-rapporteur of the Committee on Migration,
Refugees and Population of the Council of Europe Parlaimentary
Assembly.

APA reports quoting the Prosecutor-General’s Office that Mr.Garalov
first thanked to Mr.Platvoet, as head of the PACE election
observation mission for his unbiased assessment of the partial re-run
of the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan. He also stressed that
Platvoet’s new mission is related to a very sensitive issue adding
that Armenia has been pursuing aggressive and genocide policy against
Azerbaijan for over 20 years. The Prosecutor-General noted that as a
result of this aggression, more than one million Azerbaijani
residents of Nagorno Garabagh and surrounding regions have become
refugees and internally displaced persons and 20% of our territories
have been occupied.
Garalov also reported that Azerbaijan’s State Commission for
Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons has registered 4,604
Azerbaijani persons as missing in the conflict zone. The
investigation group, which was established three years ago for
investigation into the crimes committed by Armenian armed forces
during the undeclared war against Azerbaijan, interrogated 1,061
prisoners of war or hostages. The investigation proved that hundreds
of people were massacred, taken hostage and underwent torture during
the invasion of Azerbaijan’s town of Khojali, Meshali and Garadagli
villages.
`The perpetrators of these crimes will stand our courts and also
international courts if needed. No Armenian prisoner of war is held
in Azerbaijan at present, we are read to any international monitoring
of this issue. If Armenian side has evidences on that, the
Azerbaijani side is prepared to conduct relevant investigations,’ the
Prosecutor-General noted.
Expressing his satisfaction with the meeting, Leo Platvoet said as
the head of the mission for missing persons, while in Armenia he was
given no official documents proving holding of any Armenian prisoners
of war or hostages in Azerbaijan. The rapporteur noted that in his
further activity, he will take into account the information and
issues raised by the Prosecutor-General./APA/