As a result of the Khojaly genocide, which is the most striking example of the hatred policy pursued by the political leadership of Armenia against Azerbaijanis, 613 people died, according to a report prepared by Azerbaijan’s Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman) Sabina Aliyeva regarding the Azerbaijanis missing during the First Karabakh War, News.Az reports.

“Of these, 63 children, 106 women and 70 elderly people. 8 families were completely destroyed, 25 children lost both parents and 130 children lost one of their parents. In addition, 487 people, including 76 children, were injured,” the report said. “According to the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons of the Republic of Azerbaijan during the Khojaly genocide, 196 people are listed as missing. Of these, 36 are children, 65 women and 34 adults. The fact that 95 people out of 196 missing were taken hostage during the occupation is established on the basis of the testimony of witnesses. The State Commission recorded and transferred to the archive the written and video testimonies of 413 people (136 children, 201 women and 60 old people) taken hostage by the Armenians during the occupation of Khojaly and then released by various means.”

The report also noted that letters submitted by the ICRC in 1998 and 2001 mention the names of 54 Azerbaijanis and confirm that they are alive.

“According to the information, representatives of the ICRC visited 54 Azerbaijani citizens taken hostage by the Armenian military in the Republic of Armenia and in the occupied territories of Karabakh of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and they were officially registered by the ICRC. However, those 54 people reported to be alive were subsequently killed by the Armenian military-political leadership. Of these, only 17 corpses were returned home, 33 of them, including 6 women, died in custody, their bodies were not returned, and the fate of 4 people was not reported at all, which is a serious violation of human rights,” the report said.

It was also pointed out that there are reports of the discovery of numerous mass and individual graves in the liberated territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan, especially in the Khojavend, Kalbajar, Aghdam and Fuzuli regions, as well as around Shusha.

“Up to now, mass graves have been found in several villages - the Bashlibel in Kalbajar, Edilli in Khojavand, Sarihajili in Aghdam, Seyidahmadli in Fuzuli and other settlements of these regions. The discovered mass graves and human remains give grounds to say that the Azerbaijanis captured and taken hostage during the First Karabakh War were brutally tortured to death, and their remains were buried en masse,” the report added.

News.Az