Azerbaijan’s General Prosecutor’s Office released new updates on the investigation of the “Tartar case”, the country’s notorious case in which hundreds of Azerbaijani soldiers were tortured and accused of espionage in favor of the Armenian army back in 2017. The statement said that there was an increase in the number of officially recognized victims of torture, as well as new arrests and revoked convictions.
What is in the statement?
- 280 new victims of torture were identified and recognized as victims. A total of 397 victims have been identified so far, including those identified as victims during the previous investigations in the past.
- 7 more people suspected of torturing servicemen and abusing their official powers – Niftaliyev Rashid Agasharif oglu, Mikayilov Ruslan Mahammadali oglu, Mashiyev Sanan Sakhavat oglu, Gahramanov Jabir Babakhan oglu, Azizov Polad Seyfaddin oglu, Aliyev Elchin Kalam oglu and Mammadov Intigam Sharif oglu were arrested.
- Azizov Polad Seyfaddin oglu, against whom arrest order is warranted, is wanted for hiding from the investigation.
- The verdicts against 16 people, convicted of treason and later convicted of crimes against military service, were overturned.
- Agayev Fuad Ramiz oglu, who is currently in prison for conviction of torture, is charged with more allegations as new victims of his tortures emerged.
The prosecutor’s office also said that those subjected to torture, physical or mental abuse and other illegalities in connection with the Tartar case, but not identified as victims, should contact the prosecution.
What do we know about the Tartar case?
- In May 2017, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the State Security Service issued a statement alleging that a group of army servicemen and civilians had betrayed the country and passed information of military secrecy to Armenia. Since then, rumors of widespread torture against innocent soldiers rose in the media, with many survivors and victim families speaking up, while the government denying the accusations.
- The first official admission about the case came in October 2021 by Military Prosecutor Khanlar Valiyev. He announced that more than hundred servicemen had been tortured in various forms, and that only one had died before the criminal case began.
- 25 people were convicted of treason in the “Tartar case”, and at least 9 people died during torture.
- The investigation was unofficially called the “Tartar case” because the mass torture took place in the former headquarters of a military unit in Tartar district in western Azerbaijan.
