Azerbaijani Ombudsperson issues statement on 35th anniversary of January 20 tragedy

Sabina Aliyeva, the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of Azerbaijan, issued a statement marking the 35th anniversary of the January 20, 1990, tragedy.

According to the Ombudsman’s office, the statement expressed the gravity of this occasion, marking 35 years since the brutal events that occurred on the night of January 19 to 20, 1990, when Soviet armed forces attacked an unarmed population in Azerbaijan, Caliber.Az reports.

"It has been 35 years since the January 20 tragedy—a violent assault by the former USSR armed forces aimed at suppressing Azerbaijan's national spirit and its people's desire for independence. This horrific event was intended to crush the Azerbaijani people's resistance to the USSR's unjust treatment of the country, the forced deportation of Azerbaijanis from their historical lands (now part of modern-day Armenia), and Armenia's baseless territorial claims against Azerbaijan," the statement notes.

As a result of this heinous act, 150 innocent people—women, children, and the elderly—were killed in Baku and several other regions of Azerbaijan. In addition, 744 individuals were injured, and 841 were unlawfully detained.

The Ombudsman’s statement further described the day as both a testament to the Azerbaijani people's heroism and a historical moment when unarmed civilians, driven by a desire for liberty, courageously fought for their rights. Despite the brutal suppression, the Azerbaijani people ultimately prevailed, achieving their independence.

“On January 21, National Leader Heydar Aliyev, accompanied by his family, arrived at Azerbaijan’s Permanent Mission in Moscow despite threats to his life. He held a press conference, denouncing the crime and informing the international community that the USSR leadership had committed this atrocity. It was only after Heydar Aliyev returned to leadership in 1994 that political and legal evaluations of the January 20 events were made.”

The Ombudsman noted that the failure of international organizations and the global community to condemn the events at the time later allowed the occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenians and subsequent genocidal actions against Azerbaijanis.

“This crime, ordered by the former USSR leadership, violated the UN Charter, universally recognized principles of international law, and international treaties to which the Soviet Union was a party,” the statement read. "Human rights were grossly violated."

Despite numerous appeals to international organizations and the global community, the Ombudsman lamented that this crime against humanity has not received proper legal evaluation, and those responsible for carrying out these acts have not been held accountable.

“As the Commissioner for Human Rights of Azerbaijan, I urge international organizations and the global community to recognize the events of January 20 as a crime against humanity—one of the most severe forms of international crime. It is crucial that those who perpetrated these atrocities, as well as those who gave the orders, are held criminally accountable,” Aliyeva concluded.

By Vafa Guliyeva