Baku, February 23, AZERTAC
“On February 21, the Khojaly district prosecutor's office received information about the discovery of massive human remains buried during the excavations carried out as part of the significant restoration and construction works in the center of the liberated city of Khojaly (near the former carpet factory),” the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office told AZERTAC.
“A team of professional staff from the Prosecutor General's Office, along with the Ministry of Health's Association of Forensic Medicine and Pathological Anatomy, Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Citizens, and the Azerbaijani Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was seconded to the location.
During the investigation, bone fragments were discovered and appropriately collected for laboratory examination and expert analysis. Additionally, all necessary procedural actions were taken to ensure a comprehensive investigation. As a result of the procedural actions carried out until now, the human remains discovered in the area belong to at least four people (one of them, presumably, a 4-5-year-old child); it was determined that they were being tortured, tied with ropes, and buried at least 25 years ago.
The Department of Criminalistics and Information Technologies of the Prosecutor General's Office is conducting a full investigation of the incident.
Further updates on the progress will be made available to the public,” the Prosecutor General's Office added.