Another court hearing of the criminal case against Vagif Cherkezovich Khachatryan, one of the members of the illegal Armenian armed formations, which committed a massacre in the village of Meshali of Azerbaijan’s Khojaly district on December 22, 1991, has today been held in Baku.

The victims and witnesses in the trial case against Vagif Khachatryan provided testimonies, as they highlighted the crimes committed by the Khachatryan-led armed group in Meshali and surrounding areas.

Following the deliberations, the judges scheduled another court hearing for November 1.

Vagif Cherkezovich Khachatryan is charged under the article 103 (Genocide) and article 107 (Deportation or forced exile of population) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

A criminal group with the participation of Vagif Khachatryan as part of armed formations, not provided for by the legislation of Azerbaijan, comprising of the Armenian nationalists living in the Karabakh economic region, as well as arrived from the Republic of Armenia, committed genocide against the local Azerbaijani population in the village of Meshali, Khojaly district on December 22, 1991 ( on the territory of the former Asgaran district). As a result of these crimes of genocide, persecution, expulsion, armed conflicts committed against the Azerbaijani population in violation of international humanitarian law, a total of 27 people were intentionally killed, 21 people received injuries of varying degrees of severity, two villagers were taken hostage, 340 people out of 81 family households were expelled from their places of permanent residence to other territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan, resulting in material damage of total amount of 13,568,060 manats to the village residents, and 130,800 manats to the state.