Military prosecutor: French law on genocide politically motivated and barely legal

Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 22 / Trend K.Zarbaliyeva / The law criminalising the denial of the so-called "Armenian genocide" adopted by the French Senate is far from legal standards and is politically motivated, military prosecutor Khanlar Veliyev told reporters on Wednesday. He said this law violates the international principle of the court's justice, creates the possibility of criminal prosecution of citizens for their comments and opinions which does not correspond to the world of jurisprudence. "Amazingly, that at a time when hundreds of witnesses of the Khojaly tragedy are alive, there are numerous photos and videos, including those taken by representatives of foreign media of the crimes committed by Armenian fascists in Khojaly, Garadagly and other towns and villages of Azerbaijan remain hidden, but attention to events taken place a 100 years ago and unconfirmed by evidence such attention is being paid," the military prosecutor said. He said that even if we leave aside the legal aspect of this problem, it should be noted that the fact of the so-called "Armenian genocide" in Turkey is not only denied by modern scholars, it was absolutely denied by reputable researchers also immediately after World War I. Victorious countries in World War I and specifically the UK Attorney General's Office, conducted an investigation in many countries into cases of more than a 100 Turks, whom Armenians accused of committing genocide. Investigations held by the UK General Prosecutor's Office during two years into Caucasus, Iraq, Egypt and other countries, found no legally justified evidence of killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire and on June 29, 1921 it ruled there were no grounds for criminal prosecution on these events. "This decision of the British General Prosecutor's Office not only provides a basis to declare that there was no genocide of Armenians, but also debunks all of their claims. The paradox is that during the famous clashes of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire more Turks than Armenians were killed. However it is still not recognised because of the existence of double standards," Mr Veliyev noted. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az