Page 56 - karabag raporu eng

On-Site Investigation Report on Human Rights in Karabakh

place of worship, as well as buildings of historical and cultural importance,
were shared in the relevant chapter.)

Within the scope of the principles of international humanitarian law, the
traces of the fire inside the mosque have special importance, specifically
in the Giyasly Mosque. In fact, before the occupation forces withdrew, the
mosque was set on fire in 2020 to start a fire.
History expert lecturer Associate Prof. Yüksel ÖZGEN, who had the opportu-
nity to visit Aghdam on site after it was liberated from the occupation, also
shared his personal impressions and determinations with us in the meeting
held with him. In this context, Mr Özgen stated that as soon as they entered
the region, the suddenly changing vegetation first attracted their attention
and that despite the fertile lands of the region, they could not see any trees
other than pomegranate trees. He shared his observations that even the water
had receded and that he saw only the trunk of a plane tree remained, and he
expressed that he learned that a chemical substance was poured at the bot-
tom of the tree and that its root was dried. He pointed out that plane trees
are monumental trees, that they have historical importance, and that in this
respect, he finds it important to dry the plane tree. Mr Özgen, on the other
hand, stated that they could not see any trace of civilian life in the settlement
of Aghdam, that all the houses where the people lived in Aghdam, which had
a population of around 30,000 before the occupation, were destroyed, and
that only the foundation stones remained, but the destroyed stones were not
found. He expressed that they learned from the officials that the stones in
question and the belongings in the houses were sold and that this does not
seem to be a behaviour of a society planning to settle in the region.
Mr Özgen noted that they examined the ruins of the Juma and Giyasly City
Mosques, tombs, and the bread museum in Aghdam and that he saw that
the Juma Mosque was not damaged structurally, but the Giyasly City Mosque
was completely destroyed. He pointed out that there were traces of fire in the
ruins, that the tombs were also damaged since, as they learned, the tombs
were used as animal shelters, and that they came across tombstones with
Ottoman inscriptions on the same area as the tombs, but even the officials
were not aware of these damaged tombstones, so they had to show them.
He emphasised that tombstones are of great value in terms of historical and
demographic research, and therefore, neither tombs nor tombstones should
be damaged.

The aforementioned findings reveal that Armenians did not protect cultural
property during the occupation but also deliberately damaged and disre-
spected the property in question, thus clearly violating international hu-

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