Azeri soldier wants to stay in Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - Azeri soldier Samir Mammadov, who trespassed the Armenian-Turkish border in December 2006 and yielded to the Armenian side, does not wish to return to Azerbaijan.



The RA Ombudsman's Office said that Mammadov is kept in Kentron jail and does not complain of the conditions.



Mammadov told that he grew up in an orphanage and joined the army on his own will. Later he escaped, crossed the border and surrendered to the Armenian side. He also informed that not long ago he received a letter from Azerbaijan, in which his alleged parents asked him to return.



However, Samir Mammadov doesn't even want to leave for a third country fearing of revenge.



The other day, the Azeri court martial presided by judge Jamai Ramazanov has accomplished legal proceedings against Azeri soldier Vusal Garajayev, sentencing him to 11 years in prison. The state prosecutor demanded 13 years of imprisonment for the soldier, who escaped to Karabakh and was later on conveyed to Azerbaijan. The criminal case was initiated in accomplice with article 274 (treason) and article 338.1 (violation of rules of guard mounting) of the Azeri Penal Code.



Vusal Garajayev crossed the frontline and was detained by the NKR military on December 7, 2006. Observing the international obligations the NKR authorities informed the OSCE and ICRC accredited in NKR. December 23 Vusal Garajayev was conveyed to the Azeri side.