Expert points out inconsistencies and an attempt to hide 11 soldiers’ names killed in 2015 in report of Military Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan

On a January 29 board meeting of the Military Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan, military prosecutor, Lieutenant General of Justice Khanlar Veliyev, made a statement regarding the number of deaths in the Armed Forces of the country over 2015, according to Jasur Sumerinli, a military expert and an analyst from the Institute for Military Studies Khazar. The military prosecutor’s statement contains a number of contradictions, moreover, names of 11 soldiers who died in 2015 were concealed from the media, Sumerinli told Meydan TV.

Speaking about the uncovering of grave and especially grave crimes, which took place in the military units of Azerbaijan, Khanlar Veliyev said that 99.6 percent of the crimes documented over the reported period had been uncovered. The number of the registered crimes in the Armed Forces reduced in 2015 as compared to 2014.

Commenting on the military prosecutor’s statements, Jasur Sumerinli said it is difficult to express a certain opinion about an increase or decrease of number of crimes in the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan in 2015.

“It is evident that that the number of non-combat losses in the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan do not tend to reduce. Our researches revealed 78 soldiers’ deaths for various reasons in the security and defence sector of Azerbaijan in 2015; 68 of the cases took place in the military units of the Defence Ministry, 34 were killed as a result of shootout and 3 Azerbaijani soldiers were killed on a mine as a result of explosion. Use of violence and careless handling of arms led to 12 soldiers’ death, 7 soldiers committed suicide and 4 died as a result of diseases. In total, the monitoring has been on since 2003 up to now. Over 900 soldiers have died because of various reasons,” Sumerinli said.

The director the Institute for Military Studies Khazar also pointed out that the Military Prosecutor’s Office has never published a single report about soldiers’ deaths (particularly in non-combat circumstances) or about those punished for the deaths either for 2015 or through the past 13 years. On the contrary, the Military Prosecutor’s Office in many cases publishes inaccurate and misleading information. For instance, according to the figures stated in the newspaper Xalq last October 1 by Khanlar Veliyev, the military prosecutor, the number of the crimes and deaths in the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan have reduced. The researches of Khazar, however, show that the number of losses increased rather than reduced in 2015 as compared to 2003. 

The expert highlighted the discontent of the killed soldiers’ parents over the process and results of the investigation of the Military Prosecutor’s Office. Even after 6 or 7 years, many killed soldiers’ parents continue struggling and complaining to the law enforcement agencies and courts. 

“Another interesting and controversial moment: the military prosecutor says the number of deaths in the Armed Forces and other entities provided by the legislation reduced by 2.3 percent in 2015 as compared to 2013. According to our research, 91 soldiers died in 2014. Therefore, Khanlar Veliyev’s information suggests that 89 soldiers died in 2015. Meanwhile our media monitoring shows that 78 soldiers died in the security and defence sector over 2015 making it evident that the media, and we, of course, are not aware of 11 killed soldiers’ names. This gives rise to serious questions,” Sumerinli says. 

The expert believes Azerbaijan should start implementing a practice of providing the public with official statistical data about the dead soldiers. “The concealment of statistical data makes room for serious doubts about the efforts implemented for increasing the military power and the security agencies’ struggle against crimes, including corruption,” he notes.

According to Razm.info, the known cases of deaths in the Armed Forces and other security agencies of Azerbaijan exceeded 90 people in 2015.