Extracts from the materials of the criminal case terminated by the Baku Garrison Military Prosecutor's Office on December 30, 1988 in connection with the death of Azerbaijanis as a result of mass riots
An investigation launched into the deaths of D.Khudatov, D.Orujov, Y.Gasimov, S.Aliyev and V.Babayev as a result of the actions of servicemen and others during the riots, the proceedings on which were terminated by the Baku Garrison Military Prosecutor's Office on December 30, 1988, and at present the investigation of the criminal case attached to this case established that Valeri Markaryan, a resident of Baku and an Armenian by nationality, brought soldiers to Sumgait and, taking advantage of the situation, deliberately killed four Azerbaijanis by driving a high-risk bus on civilians walking on the sidewalk.
10 witnesses were interrogated on that episode. Of these, 2 are victims, 2 are close relatives of the victim, and 6 are bus drivers who took the military to Sumgait. Witness Shikhaliyev stated in his testimony that Rasim Sabir had heard that Markaryan Valera, who worked in the same bus fleet with him, had hit and killed 4-5 Azerbaijanis at a bus station in Sumgait. Drivers Babashov Amrah Mahammad and Gurbanov Maharram Rzaagha also testified that they heard that Markaryan hit and killed Azerbaijanis by bus. Orlov Vyacheslav Sergeyevich, who witnessed the events, during the interrogation of investigators by the investigation group of the USSR Prosecutor General's Office in March 1988 said that Markaryan hit and killed Azerbaijanis by a bus. He also confirmed his statement during a confrontation with Markaryan. Markaryan also confirmed Orlov's statement during the confrontation.
From the testimony of Ibrahimov Safikhan Ibrahim it is clear that on February 29, 1988, at about 4 pm, when he, together with his colleague Gasimov Haji Gasim, went to work at the old bus station in Sumgait, he suddenly heard shouts that the bus had run over people. He went out onto the road to see what was happening and, seeing an APC approaching them, tried to escape, but failed, as a result the armored vehicle hit him and his colleague in the leg and drove over a passing stranger.
After the event, Valeri Markaryan ran away from Baku.
Measures are being taken for a legal assessment of the fact of the premeditated murder of several people by Valeri Markaryan and for solving the issue of responsibility.
The statements of Huseynov Samad Amrah, Agayev Rauz Hajimirza, Rzayev Rza Hamid, Movsumov Farhad Asad and Vahabzadeh Rauf Musa, who were interrogated in the current investigation and worked in the garage of the Sumgait City Health Department at that time, show that on the eve of the events, Babayev Karlen Mikhailovich, the manager of the garage where they worked, gathered extremist Armenians working in the garage and carried out propaganda on the separation of Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan. Strangers from Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia also took part in the talks. At the meetings, they saw a bus driver named Valeri from Baku and a resident of Sumgait, Eduard Grigoryan, nicknamed “Pasha”, one of the organizers and active participants in the riots in Sumgait, which later became known.