“GEGHARD”
SCIENTIFIC ANALYTICAL
FOUNDATION
2024
2024
In May 2017, the Ministries of Defense and Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan, the General Prosecutor's Office, and the National Security Service issued a joint statement about the arrests of servicemen of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan on the charge of "spying for Armenia." However, these were not arrests but extrajudicial reprisals.
After the "arrests," the servicemen were taken to defunct military units in the Tartar region (hence the name "Tartar case"), where they were subjected to various forms of torture, including being beaten with their hands and feet tied, thrown from high floors, drowned in water, having their nails torn off, being kept hungry and thirsty, and being raped. Approximately 400 soldiers were tortured as part of this case.
Tortured Izzat Jafarov recounted, "They called me to Jamilia. Everything happened there. Vusal (referring to Vusal Alasgyarov, one of the accused in the 'Tartar case') said they had information that I worked for the Armenians. When I denied it, they pressured me even more. They put a bag over my head, laid me on the ground, and someone sat on me. Vusal said, 'Take him on your back.' He instructed, 'Take him to the room, let him see the people there and come to his senses.' They took me to a room, and as soon as I entered, I was horrified. Two people were lying on the ground, in blood, with their hands tied behind their backs. It can be said that they were corpses. They were in such a state that it was as if they were dead from torture. They said, 'Would you like us to bring you to this state?'"
Tural Qojaev, one of the victims, said the following: “From there I was taken to a military unit. Hikmet Hasanov was also there. There was noise coming from the unit building: screams, pleas, it seemed that hundreds of people were being tortured at the same time. My heart almost burst with fear. I stood in front of the military unit. There was blood everywhere. The people were stripped, and they lay naked, covered in blood, with handcuffs on their hands and bandages over their eyes. I still didn’t understand what was happening. It was unthinkable: people were brought in Kamaz trucks and unloaded from the back onto the ground like sacks of potatoes. Someone shouted that those who sold this country should also be gathered there. In front of me, a naked and tortured officer was bent like a suitcase and wrapped with duct tape on all sides; he did not fit in the trunk of the car; they pressed him down so that the trunk would close. Nobody came to me. The driver who brought me said: let's get out of here. When we started the car and drove off, they whistled from the back. And then everything happened within two minutes.”
At least 13 servicemen died as a result of torture, 5 of whom were not prosecuted. 30 were sentenced to 12-20 years in prison on charges of treason.
After some time, legal proceedings against the perpetrators began in Azerbaijan. By 2021, the authorities of Azerbaijan acknowledged that these reprisals had taken place in the army.
In December 2021, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan, the General Prosecutor's Office, and the National Security Service issued a joint statement announcing the initiation of a new investigation of the torture case.
As a result, 20 people convicted of treason, as well as 16 individuals who were convicted under other articles of the Criminal Code, were acquitted. (An additional 13 were acquitted in 2018.)
Ten defendants in the "Tartar case" remain in prison. Their relatives and human rights defenders demand a review of their cases.
Although the "Tartar case" was reopened years later and legal proceedings were initiated against those who used tortured, both human rights defenders and relatives of the victims remain dissatisfied with the process.
On one hand, the authorities have confirmed the existence of only one victim, while the actual number of victims is at least 13. On the other hand, not all the culprits and not the main ones ended up in prison, so the relatives of the victims are demanding that those who gave the order to torture the military personnel be punished․ In this context, the relatives do not believe in a fair and objective examination of the case.
Those subjected to torture, claim that the commander of the First Army Corps, Hikmet Hasanov, personally oversaw and participated in the torture process. Despite the evidence, not only was there no criminal charge against Hasanov, but he was also awarded various medals for his participation in the 2020 44-day war. Furthermore, in August 2021, he was appointed as the deputy head of the Azerbaijan Military Academy.
Who is serviceman Garayev to torture someone? Minister of Defense, Khanlar Valiyev (military prosecutor), Hikmat Hasanov should come here. This tiral will not be impartial until they are detained.
To understand the motives behind the mass torture of servicemen in Azerbaijan, it is important to note that this process followed the April war of 2016.
According to the tortured Allahverdiev, after the April war, Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov reported to Ilham Aliyev that Seysulan and Talish villages were "liberated," but in fact, they remained under Armenian control.
"The events of May 2017 were mainly related to providing false information to the President of Azerbaijan, as if a mass betrayal had been committed. As a result, the enemy launched a counterattack and took control of the villages of Seysulan and Talish, which were supposedly liberated by us," Allahverdiyev said.
Thus, the military leadership of Azerbaijan tried to justify the defeat in the 2016 war by claiming the presence of "spies" in the army, not sparing its servicemen.
The "Tartar case" unveils the real situation in the Azerbaijani army. It demonstrates how the military leadership of Azerbaijan treats its servicemen, avoiding punishment and even receiving rewards. The servicemen of the Azerbaijani army are just headcount and cannon fodder for their own leadership.
Another remarkable circumstance related to the "Tartar case" also demonstrates the attitude of the military leadership.
The defendants in the case, Senan Mashyev, Jabir Ghahramanov, Ruslan Mykhailiov, and Elchin Aliyev, were initially sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in prison in March 2019. On October 1, 2020, they were released and sent to participate in military operations. They even received medals for their "feats." In 2021, when the "Tartar case" was reopened, they were arrested again. The new verdicts were issued on June 4․ Senan Mashyev was sentenced to 4 years and 10 months in prison, Jabir Ghahramanov to 6 years and 8 months, Ruslan Mykhailiov to 6 years and 10 months, and Elchin Aliyev to 5 years and 8 months.
It should be noted that in December 2021, the General Prosecutor's Office decided to extend the proceedings in the criminal case. During the investigation, it became known that the above-mentioned individuals tortured servicemen and illegally deprived them of their freedom, leading to their criminal liability under several articles of the Criminal Code: 145.3 (unlawful deprivation of liberty), 293.2 (torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment), 341.2.2 (abuse of power), 341.2.3, and 128 (intentional harm to health). Despite the fact that murders occurred, not just torture or "abuse of power," the those accused were sentenced to 5-9 years of imprisonment under these articles.