By Mark Dovich
Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has charged Huseyn Akhundov, an Azerbaijani soldier who crossed into Armenia earlier this month, with murdering a security guard working at a mine in southern Armenia.
In a statement Tuesday, the Prosecutor General’s Office announced it had formally charged Akhundov with murder “motivated by national hatred, intolerance, and enmity,” one day after charging him with conspiracy to illegally cross the border and smuggle firearms and munitions into Armenia.
Hayrapet Meliksetyan, a security guard at the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine in Armenia’s southernmost Syunik region, was found shot dead last Wednesday.
Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office alleges that Akhundov murdered Meliksetyan in a botched attempt to steal his car and escape to nearby Iran. After the car failed to start, Akhundov took Meliksetyan’s phone before fleeing the scene on foot.
A video, apparently filmed on Meliksetyan’s phone, appears to show Akhundov boasting about killing Armenians, adding, “We are not traitors, and we hope to return successfully to Azerbaijan.”
One day after the murder, Akhundov was apprehended near the village of Achanan by local residents, who then handed him over to Armenian law enforcement. A video appears to show a group of Armenians beating Akhundov before officers arrived.
CivilNet has not confirmed the authenticity of either video.
Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office said Tuesday the country’s Investigative Committee is conducting an inquiry into “the circumstances of (Akhundov’s) physical injuries.”
Akhundov is one of two Azerbaijani soldiers who crossed into Armenia earlier this month from the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan, apparently after getting lost in bad weather. The other soldier, Agshin Babirov, was apprehended near the village of Ashotavan, also in Syunik, three days before Akhundov was caught.
Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has charged Babirov with conspiracy to illegally cross the border and smuggle firearms and munitions into Armenia.
Anahit Manasyan, Armenia’s newly appointed Human Rights Defender, visited Akhundov and Babirov in detention over the weekend to interview the two men.
In a statement, Manasyan’s office said Akhundov and Babirov did not raise issues of “torture or other forms of mistreatment, including psychological pressure” and were being provided with “a constant supply of drinking water, food, and hygiene items,” as well as “medical care as necessary.”
