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Azerbaijani State Commission addresses population over graves believed to be of missing persons

25 May 2017 11:30 (UTC +04:00)

After photos surfaced in the media of graves believed to be of people who died in the wake of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and were buried without identity as well as of their burial, a number of citizens have attempted to open graves of missing persons in an illegal way, the State Commission of Azerbaijan on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons told APA.

The Commission emphasized that the exhumation of the body of a person killed during an armed conflict can only be conducted after detailed data are gathered and DNA samples are taken from the deceased’s relatives. After this process is over, forensic and other experts can conduct an exhumation at the order of concerned bodies.

The properly collected human remains are compared to the samples taken from the body and relatives of the missing persons after undergoing a laboratory examination. In case of a positive result, the remains of the deceased are handed over their families, said the Commission.

The State Commission said it is continuing to take proper measures together with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Following the completion of necessary procedures, exhumation will be done in accordance with international standards, said the Commission, urging the population and representatives of local administrative structures not to carry out the exhumation of unidentified graves and remove human remains without the authorization of relevant law-enforcement and judicial authorities.

Under the legislation of Azerbaijan, such actions are criminally punishable, the Commission added.