ArmInfo.The Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Armenia initiated two criminal proceedings on the fact of Azerbaijan's aggression against the Republic of Armenia during the 44-day war of 2020. Another case was opened by the Investigative Committee of the Republic in connection with the forced deportation of Artsakh residents. Head of the supervisory authority Anna Vardapetyan stated on May 3, speaking in parliament.
According to the Prosecutor General, a secrecy regime has been established in relation to cases being investigated by the department, and measures are also being taken that are not subject to disclosure. On September 20, 2023, the Investigative Committee of Armenia announced the initiation of a criminal case on grounds of genocide against the population of Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan. In particular, according to the Investigative Committee, we are talking about the closure of the Lachin corridor and the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, the illegal installation of a checkpoint on the Hakari Bridge in the Berdzor corridor, and then a provocation on the Hakari Bridge on June 15, 2023, as a result of which all humanitarian passenger passages and freight transport in both directions were completely blocked, the interruption of gas and electricity supplies, and the September 19 aggression, the purpose of which was ethnic cleansing.
According to official data, 230 people, including 19 civilians, including six children, were killed during the one-day fighting on September 19 in Artsakh. 231 servicemen and 80 civilians were wounded by gunshots. 218 people were killed, 120 were injured of varying degrees of severity, and 21 people are considered missing after the explosion at a fuel depot on the Stepanakert-Askeran highway on September 25. 64 forcibly displaced persons died on their way from Artsakh to Armenia. Many of our compatriots who were captured during the war of 2020 and in the subsequent period are still in Baku prisons. During the forced displacement, former presidents and other high-ranking officials of the Republic of Artsakh were also captured. As a result of ethnic cleansing, more than 100 thousand residents of the unrecognized republic were forcibly expelled from Artsakh to Armenia.