The timing of the arrest has again raised suspicions about a senior officer around whom rumors had long swirled.

Ulkar Natiqqiz

A senior Azerbaijani general who was the subject of widespread rumors of treason has been arrested on 20-year-old murder charges.

The arrest represents the second case of a prominent military leader facing punishment following the country’s victory over Armenia in last year’s 44-day war. Najmaddin Sadikov, the chief of staff of the army, is no longer serving in the military and has disappeared under mysterious circumstances. 

Now, Lieutenant General Rovshan Akbarov, whose most recent post was commander of the Baku Corps, has been arrested on charges related to a murder from 2001 in Kyiv. Akbarov is accused of stabbing to death an Azerbaijani businessman, Elchin Aliyev, during an argument outside a cafe.

On a decision by the Baku Military Court, Akbarov was arrested on March 15 and ordered to be detained for four months. Two days later, the general prosecutor’s office announced that it was reopening criminal proceedings in the case. 

“After the criminal case was re-examined by the Prosecutor General’s Office in 2020, The Office revoked the decision to suspend the criminal proceedings, and the Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office conducted numerous investigative actions and collected enough evidence to investigate the case,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. “Grounds for suspicion” were established to charge Akbarov, it said.

Like Sadikov, with whom he was associated, Akbarov was frequently accused of treason by Azerbaijani social media users during last year’s war.

Akbarov began his career in the Soviet armed forces and served in Afghanistan. He was named a “National Hero” in 1994 for his performance in Azerbaijan’s first war with Armenia, and was first appointed commander of the Baku corps in 1998.

He had denied involvement in the murder, saying he only learned about Aliyev’s death from employees of the Azerbaijani embassy in Kyiv when Azerbaijani authorities questioned him in 2002. The same year, the Azerbaijan prosecutor office said it had decided to return the case to Ukraine, that there was insufficient evidence and contradictions between the testimonies that eyewitnesses gave. At about this same time, in Azerbaijan, Akbarov was promoted to lieutenant general.  

In 2010, the Serious Crimes unit of the Prosecutor General’s office said it was suspending the criminal proceedings into Aliyev’s death, explaining that “it was not possible to determine the person (persons) who committed the crime despite the fact that at the time being all possible operational investigative measures were taken.” (sic)

In 2014, following an appeal by Aliyev’s parents to the European Court of Human Rights, the court ruled that the crime had not been investigated properly.

Since Aliyev died, his family has sent dozens of letters to various government agencies, including the Presidential Administration and the Prosecutor General’s Office, demanding that Akbarov be punished. His mother, Samaya Aliyeva, said in a 2016 interview with Meydan TV that she had approached President Ilham Aliyev about the issue, and that she had documentation from Ukraine that supported her contention. 

“I was begging the president …. to not put the killer of my child face to face with me. I cannot live. He (the president) turned to me and said, “Mother, I will help you.” Then I turned to his wife and asked her a question. I said, ‘I have spent a lot of time with your assistant. I appealed but I did not receive any answer. I swear to you wherever you go, take this letter. This letter came to us from Kyiv and has been properly investigated,” Aliyeva said.

Last year’s war brought renewed attention on Akbarov. In December, he was asked by local news outlet Qafqazinfo about reports that he had been removed from the army and that his name never appeared in any news about the war. “At present, I have no connection with the army. I’m busy with something else. Therefore, I will not say anything,” he replied. 

In February, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defense confirmed that Akbarov, along with another general, had been relieved of their duties, without offering further explanation.  

Aliyeva said she is finding a little comfort now that Akbarov has been arrested. 

“I did not lose hope,” she told Meydan after the prosecutor’s announcement. “I’m not like 20 years ago, I’m much older. But still, we did not stop. Thankfully, they helped. True, it will not return my baby, but it is a bit of comfort.” 

Many commentators have suggested that the arrest and charges for the 2001 Kyiv murder were merely a pretext to go after Akbarov.

“The European Court ruled in 2014” on the case, one Azerbaijani lawyer, Agil Layic, wrote on Facebook. “If he was going to be arrested it should have happened then. It is absurd to see this as the motive for his arrest.”

“Twenty years after the murder, the prosecutor’s office woke up to the fact that there were reasonable suspicions that Rovshan Akbarov had committed this crime,” activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev wrote on Facebook. “One of the real reasons for his arrest was treason during the war,” he argued.

Even pro-government media suggested that there was more to the arrest than was being announced officially. 

“Why didn’t the Azerbaijan military political leadership use Akbarov in the war?” asked the news website azar.az following his arrest. “There is only one logical answer to this question: How much of a traitor do you have to be that as soon as the war begins, a veteran of Afghanistan and the First Karabakh War – that is, with professional experience, including in Karabakh – is immediately removed from the military process?”

It added: “Of course, all this does not mean that Akbarov did not commit a crime in 2001. It is a matter of ‘remembering’ the crime.”

There could be several explanations for the removal of Akbarov, along with Sadikov, said Jasur Mammadov, the head of the think tank Caspian Defense Studies. One is related to concerns that they could have passed information on to Russia, which then could have found its way to Armenia, Mammadov said. Another is from a genuine fear that they could sabotage operations during the war. “These men led tens of thousands of servicemen, and they could at any time make a subversive order to withdraw their troops,” he said.

The two generals’ ouster also coincides with a broader push to reform the Azerbaijani military to be more in line with a Turkish model, which means that Soviet-legacy officers are not wanted. “Now they can be an obstacle, in this context, they need to be removed in some way,” Mammadov said.

Ulkar Natiqqizi is a reporter based in Baku.

A pregnant woman married to an Armenian was killed by an Azerbaijani in the greater Moscow area and died on the spot due to her injury, and the Investigative Committee of Russia has launched a criminal case under the article of murder, Vechernyaya Moskva newspaper reports.

The murderer is 43-year-old Munir, who attacked his 40-year-old sister, Leyla. Andrey Kolobin, one of the locals, said he had heard how the man screamed at the girl, called her a prostitute and blamed her for not following Muslim traditions. He added that, unfortunately, there was nobody near her when she was stabbed with a knife and had already died when the paramedics arrived.

Surveillance cameras recorded the crime, and shots of the incident show how a man dressed in black approaches the girl and starts beating her, takes out a knife and starts stabbing her. After killing the girl, he throws the weapon and hides.

Anastasia Kalimova, who knows Leyla’s family, told the newspaper what the reason for the murder was. “The reason for the murder was that Leyla’s family was against Leyla getting married to an Armenian, and her family didn’t consider her “clean”. They lived together for seven years and had children. Where was Leyla’s brother all this time? The fact that her brother killed her and left the children without a mother is horrible. The children already know that their mother is gone.”

YEREVAN. – I now know that the extra-parliamentary forces will again try to use some resources. National Assembly (NA) vice speaker Alen Simonyan, a member of the majority My Step faction, on Friday told this to reporters the NA, regarding the forthcoming snap parliamentary elections in Armenia.

“I assure you that law enforcement agencies can and will engage in activities that will not allow the accepted logic of distributing money and the tricks that were used during the past 20 years,” he added.

To the question, how he assesses the chances of the government fighting with these forces, Simonyan said that he assesses these chances highly. “Because all the forces you mentioned held the elections with fraud; even when they were in power, they could not be elected without [electoral] fraud.”

To the question whether the government will manage to go to the aforesaid elections with the new Electoral Code, the NA vice speaker said that respective discussions were in progress.

Referring to the question why it was decided to go for snap elections taking into account that before that it was announced that there was no public demand for such elections, Alen Simonyan responded that they did not say that there was no demand for early elections. “We have said that the agenda formed by the opposition is not right; the opposition had not even made that demand. (…). The government, in fact, was the only political force that had openly announced and proposed to go for snap elections.”

To the question, proceeding from the security considerations of the country, to what extent is it expedient to hold elections at this moment, the NA vice speaker responded: “It is proceeding from the country’s security considerations that elections should be held today because the country cannot be in constant turmoil.”

Alen Simonyan did not deny a reporter’s observation that the popularity rating of the ruling power has decreased. “But I can say that we will try to bring it back during the [election] campaign. I am confident that the ruling force will win the elections again,” he added.

When asked whether the election campaign will contribute to the increase of the coronavirus cases in Armenia, the NA vice speaker said that there was such an issue. “But there are issues that are much more important,” he added.

Referring to the actions of the opposition and its closing off of Marshal Baghramyan Avenue—across the parliament building, Simonyan said: “We understand that the opposition wants to provoke any clash (…). Today, in fact, the 17 [opposition] forces are in an impasse. They dream that the police will take some action and they will be able to leave that street, saving their face.”

Simonyan added that PM Nikol Pashinyan will be the acting premier until the elections.

And to the oppositionists’ remarks that Pashinyan is being surrounded by many policemen in order to go to a state organization, and therefore how he will go to the election campaign, Alen Simonyan said: “All the leaders of the Republic of Armenia have always acted under the same security rules. Also, we [Armenia] are under martial law, and the security of the prime minister is a priority. (…). There are security norms that will be observed because there has been an encroachment on the life of the prime minister.”

Third President Serzh Sargsyan on Thursday promised a strong campaign, on behalf of his Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), for ousting the “defeatist government” and embarking on real state-building efforts through direct popular elections.  

Speaking to reporters outside a Yerevan district court (which today held a hearing over the case accusing the former president of “embezzlement of state funds”), the leader of the former ruling political force also expressed regret that their earlier warnings “did not receive a wide public resonance” to prevent the recent war in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).

“A bloody war was required – with colossal losses and dispossession – to open our people’s eyes and give them a real understanding of the intentions and essence underlying the current government’s actions. The tragedy was not unfortunately possible to avert, but I do see a way for rising from the dead. The capitulators must quit to enable the people to elect a state-oriented government to embark on stepping up the security of Armenia and our citizens’ well-being. We do not have an alternative.” 

The former president said that despite the party losses – suffered in the past three years since the government change – they now have a “professional and competitive team” to fight for the nation and a strong state.

Sargsyan also vowed “not to leave the political trenches” in any case, reaffirming his dedication to statehood protection and strengthening. “The Republican Party has always been and will remain vocal. Our actions will be clearly outlined, calculated, coordinated and goal-oriented,” he added. 

On March 18, 1826, a small group of brave Greek Revolutionaries, led by Vasos Mavrovouniotis attempted to liberate the Ottoman-occupied city of Beirut, and thus spread the Hellenic Revolution to Coele-Syria.

According to then-British Consul John Barker, stationed in Aleppo, the Revolutionaries were thwarted by a local Mufti and a hastily arranged defence force.

Although initially repelled, the Greek heroes did manage to hold on to a small portion of the city near the seashore in an area inhabited by local Rûm.

They appealed to the Rûm “to rise up and join them”, and even sent an invitation to the chief of the local Druzes to also join the Revolution.

Although unsuccessful, their heroic attempt to incite the Rûm of the Levant lives on as a testament that the Rûm of Europe and those of the Levant were and still are one people.

*Source: GrecoSyrians

A commander of a training battalion of the Defense Army is under arrest on charges of insubordination and desertion, the Committee of Investigations said.

According to the investigators, Commander I. Vahanyan disobeyed his superior’s orders during combat operations in the 2020 Artsakh War and deserted the battlefield. According to investigators the commander’s actions led to casualties in his battalion, with some troops getting killed, others getting wounded or taken captive.

Vahanyan is in pre-trial detention.

US President Joe Biden said his administration intends to work with Azerbaijan to achieve regional peace, TASS reported.

According to him, his administration will work with Azerbaijan to address issues of common concern related to security and regional peace. As a co-chairing country of the OSCE Minsk Group, the US is committed to assisting the parties to achieve a long-term peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, encouraging reconciliation between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the name of a prosperous and peaceful future, Biden said in his congratulations to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of Novruz holiday.

The American president also noted that his administration supports Azerbaijan’s efforts to diversify the economy and develop energy opportunities in the Caspian Sea. 

The United States intends to consider new opportunities for economic cooperation, the congratulatory message says.

Armenia’s third President Serzh Sargsyan on Thursday said he will never leave “the political trench” defending the Armenian statehood.

“During these three years, we [the Republican Party of Armenia] also had party losses, but we also emerged stronger from it, our ranks crystallized, we have a professional and competitive team today as well and will fight for building a strong state,” he told supporters outside the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction.

He stressed that he will never leave the political “entrenchment”. “I will not leave the political trench; I am not a man who leaves the trenches. In my life, I have proved that I can easily give up my post for the sake of the Armenian people, I can give up a whole power, but you can rest assured that I will never abandon the ‘trench’ that defends the Armenian statehood,” Sargsyan said.

The ex-president noted that the voice of the Republican Party has always been clear and will remain so.

“Our steps will be clear, measured, coordinated, purposeful and honest,” the RPA chairman said.
He thanked the people gathered outside the court building for their support, but asked them not to wait till the end of the court hearing.

“Let’s chant together, ‘Long live Armenia!’,” Sargsyan said, with his supporters chanting the slogan several times outside the court.

The gathered citizens also repeatedly chanted, “President!”.

The Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia (RA) has issued a clarification in connection with the Administrative Court decision on securing the lawsuit accepted in an administrative case, and which concerns the dismissal of the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Onik Gasparyan.

“On the basis of the constitutional norm, on the basis of the decree of the President of the Republic, which entered into force by virtue of law, Onik Gasparyan, Chief of the General Staff of the RA Armed Forces, was relieved of his post on 10.03.2021, which the RA Prime Minister recorded by a statement issued on the same day.

Pursuant to Section 2 of Article 139 of the RA Constitution, the respective act—in this case, the decree of the RA President—is in force by virtue of law.

The Constitution has not envisaged the possibility of reversing the act that came into force by virtue of the mentioned constitutional norm.

Therefore, Onik Gasparyan has been relieved of the post of Chief of General Staff of the RA Armed Forces, and (…) the process of appointing a new Chief of the General Staff of the RA Armed Forces continues,” the aforesaid clarification reads in part.

Decision on means of securing claim applied by Armenia court in army General Staff ex-chief’s case is published

by Peter Ramjug

In late November, while most Americans were busy planning their holiday get-togethers, Haig Haroutunian was dealing with more pressing matters.

After seeing news footage of the war-ravaged bodies of young Armenian soldiers, the licensed physical therapist and Bouvé College of Health Sciences graduate immediately set off from Boston to stay with relatives in his native country to help heal his compatriots’ emotional and physical scars.

“I wanted to do something to help,” he says.

Armenia is about the size of Maryland and has produced notables such as reality TV star Kim Kardashian and tennis champion Andre Agassi. It is the smallest of the former Soviet republics, surrounded by Georgia to the north, Azerbaijan on the east, Turkey on the west, and Iran to the south.

Armenia has been clashing with Azerbaijan for decades over ownership of Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region controlled by ethnic Armenian factions but inside the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan. Several cease-fire attempts have come and gone over the years.

“Today Nagorno-Karabakh is a reminder of the importance of autonomy, sovereignty, and statehood,” explains Julie Garey, assistant teaching professor of political science who specializes in international relations, U.S. foreign policy, and national security.

“The region was declared autonomous after World War I, but being an autonomous region does not carry the same weight as being a state.”

Thousands of lives have been lost in the territorial dispute, and many thousands more forever altered by devastating injuries. Shortly after touching down in the Armenian capital of Yerevan in late November, Haroutunian began the wrenching process of picking up where surgeons leave off after mending  soldiers’ broken bodies. What he saw were no ordinary injuries.

“There were tiny shrapnel wounds caused by explosives dropped from drones,” Haroutunian says.

Trauma from small, metal fragments is often worse than a bullet because once the projectile enters the body it either exits or becomes dislodged, and can generally be removed, he explains.

“But if we’re talking about pieces of shrapnel that could be half a centimeter in size and lodged in obscure places, a lot of times they can’t be removed, and they stay in the body, threatening surrounding organs.”

Azerbaijan’s increasing use of armed drones provides air power at a fraction of the cost of a traditional air force, according to news reports. The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh also underscored how drones can suddenly shift a long-standing conflict and leave ground forces highly exposed.

“Soldiers were being picked off by drones,” Haroutunian says.

Shrapnel injuries to nerves cause significant pain or numbness, affecting the limb’s function.

“A lot of people were walking around with what’s called ‘drop foot’,” Haroutunian explains. “If shrapnel hits a nerve in the leg, then some of the muscles that help with walking just stop working, and people walk around either with a limp, or require crutches or a wheelchair.”

Haroutunian was never in harm’s way, working mostly at a distance from the fighting in an old Soviet rehabilitation center. “It’s not a pleasant place to be by any means,” he says.

The 160-bed, government-run facility was put out of commission years ago but is now up and running again due to an overwhelming volume of patients. The pandemic has further strained Armenia’s health-care system, adding to the crisis.

Not only did he help the wounded recover from bone fractures, nerve damage, lacerated tissue, and amputated limbs, but Haroutunian also helped mend deep, third-degree burns caused by white phosphorus. The chemical is held by militaries around the world and is used legally in combat as a smokescreen in daytime and as an incendiary to light up an area at night. It is illegal to use against civilians.

The 2018 Bouvé graduate provided hands-on therapy, educating patients about their injuries, the importance of home exercise programs, and the dangers of being sedentary. But he was also there to provide compassion and empathy, the soft skills that often determine a patient’s chances of rebounding from war wounds.

“The soldiers truly appreciated seeing somebody from the [United] States take time off from their own work and come for several weeks to help them out,” he says. “That was big for a lot of them.”

Patient trust is integral to a successful patient-therapist relationship, explains Eric Folmar, associate department chair and associate clinical professor in Northeastern’s Department of Physical Therapy. Empathy and compassion are at the core of the trust-building process.

Physical therapists by their nature are drawn to helping others, Haroutunian says, with sympathy and tenderness innate characteristics. It’s a distinctive component of Bouvé’s service-learning program, which encourages engagement with the community.

“Students have numerous opportunities to work with patients in a variety of settings throughout the curriculum,” says Folmar. “They are also encouraged to embrace the many facets of physical therapy to allow them to find the specialty practice that they are truly passionate about.” 

Haroutunian, who was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, spent a semester volunteering at the Madison Park Village apartment complex near the Boston campus, assisting the elderly with therapeutic exercises.

He’s been back in Boston since late December. After three weeks abroad he was glad to return to his full-time job as a home care physical therapist, working with patients in the area. “But I will never, ever forget those soldiers back home,” he says.

Source: https://news.northeastern.edu/2021/03/17/this-bouve-graduate-is-helping-his-war-ravaged-country-of-armenia-heal-with-physical-therapy/