Ombudsman's reaction regarding the discovery of another mass grave in Shusha

Today another mass grave was found in Azerbaijan’s liberated city of Shusha. As a result of the excavations, the bones of 17 people were found, 11 of which were complete, and 6 were like different fragments of the human skeleton.

One of the terrible facts about this mass grave discovered in the sewage well in the Shusha prison area is the discovery of nails in the abdomen of the remains of 6 people, indicating that those people were tortured in this way.

At the same time, during the preliminary inspection of the remains, it was found that the bodies of those persons had bullet marks, various blunt blows were inflicted, cutting tools were used, and their heads were buried separately from the body.

It should be noted that during the occupation by Armenia, the detention of Azerbaijani captives and hostages in the territory of Shusha prison, their torture, and inhuman treatment have been confirmed by various witness statements. Before that, in June, human remains were discovered in the territory of Shusha prison.

These facts are another manifestation of Armenia's policy of hatred against Azerbaijanis, merciless treatment of prisoners and hostages. Unfortunately, as a result of the lack of pressure at the international level and the impunity that has lasted for many years, Armenia continues its illegal acts with ease, and in order to divert the attention of the international community from its terrible actions, it is currently trying to make false claims by addressing appeals to various circles.

In general, numerous mass graves have been discovered in our liberated territories, and about 500 human remains have been found up to now. The Armenian side evades to provide the whereabouts of places of mass burial. Despite this, the relevant institutions are currently working on finding the other mass burial places and conducting necessary examinations to clarify the fate of nearly 4,000 Azerbaijanis who went missing during the First Karabakh War.

As the Ombudsman of Azerbaijan, I have repeatedly raised the issue of the fate of our missing compatriots before international organizations and appealed to support our country in this regard to end the long-lasting suffering of the families of those persons.

Considering all the above, I once again invite international organizations to react decisively to such unearthed facts, take necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of hate crimes, and call on Armenia to provide information about the missing Azerbaijanis.

Sabina Aliyeva

The Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman)

of the Republic of Azerbaijan

August 15, 2023