Yerevan /Mediamax/. Assistant to the Azerbaijani president Hikmet Hajiyev described calls for the release of "individuals accused of grave war crimes” "immoral and unethical.”
Hajiyev noted that “The decision of the Baku court regarding oligarch Ruben Vardanyan represents not only the delivery of justice, but also the symbolic and logical conclusion of the past nearly 30-year conflict that brought immense suffering to the Azerbaijani people.”
“By advancing a unique military-political resolution model of conflict and initiating a post-conflict peace agenda, Azerbaijan has also ensured accountability for individuals accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including Bako Sahakyan, Arayik Harutyunyan, and Ruben Vardanyan, and others,” he stated.
“We expected that international courts or tribunals – such as the Nuremberg Trials, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, or the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda – would be established. However, in today’s unjust international environment, even the application of law has become increasingly politicized and subject to double standards,” Hajiyev said.
He added that “Therefore, Azerbaijan organized open court proceedings and ensured justice through its own legal system, setting an example for the international community.”
“However, it is utterly immoral and unethical that certain circles – including some members of the European Parliament and organizations such as Amnesty International – call for the release of individuals accused of grave war crimes,” he noted.
“Exonerating a person accused of war crimes amounts to legitimizing those crimes and becoming complicit in undermining accountability. Sustainable peace and ethnic reconciliation cannot be achieved without justice,” Hajiyev said.
