Azerbaijani who exposed war crimes in Ukraine

The global consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine continue, mainly, the complications surrounding the humanitarian field, and war crimes are increasing day by day. It is necessary to turn those crimes into facts and evidence, and in this mission, Jane Aliyeva, who is originally from Azerbaijan, stands out for her activity.

Jane Aliyeva, originally from Aghdam district of Azerbaijan, born and raised in Ukraine, is currently the head of the international legal organization “PayBack4Ukraine”, which works with experts from various Western countries. In this activity, she has partnered with the famous British photographer Giles Duley, the former colonel of the British Royal Army, the well-known military expert Tim Spicer, the English artist Dr. Paulina Amos and others. And they already have some significant achievements. Together with the team of Azerbaijani youth, the “Mama Jane” fund, known for its humanitarian aid, also operates.

Jane Aliyeva informed Report’Eastern European Bureau that her international partners are increasing:

“I am a Ukrainian of Azerbaijani origin. I studied in the UK and the U.S. My family has always lived in Ukraine. As we are originally from Karabakh, I am not a stranger to the current events in Ukraine. My dream was to engage in charity work after I turn 50, but the beginning of the war in the country overturned our plans. I had to open a charity fund. In addition, the international law firm I lead includes more than 1,000 lawyers. Our goal is to freeze the assets of Russia and various individuals who are the cause of the war and provide them to Ukraine in the form of reparations. The damage and pain caused by Russia to Ukrainians must be compensated.

The company I represent is called “PayBack4Ukraine”. Our name is representative of our attitude towards the invaders. All our employees are foreigners and foreign companies representing the field of law. Our team members work for free. The face of the company is Jason McHugh, a well-known attorney who has won numerous reparations lawsuits. We work with USA, Canada, Israel, Great Britain and European countries. In November 2022, our first case against the “Wagner” military company and its head Yevgeny Prigozhin took place in the London court. We are currently investigating cases of illegal removal of children from Ukraine, drones, ecocide, sexual violence against civilians, and torture against military personnel. The statistics on the latter are very alarming, and therefore we strive to bring the perpetrators to justice. We are supported by famous people from all over the world, such as well-known documentarian-photographer Giles Dulin and British colonel Tim Spicer.”

Jane also noted that the “Mama Jane Charity Foundation” charity fund she leads specializes in helping Ukrainian mothers and children who suffered from the Russian invaders.

“Another project we are currently working on involves providing psychological assistance to children who suffered from occupation or were deported in European countries. Next month we will send the first group. In this regard, a number of large companies support us. The fund deals mostly with humanitarian issues. This mainly includes the provision of food and basic necessities.”

Jane also commented on her attachment to Azerbaijan:

“We are originally from Karabakh. My father was born in Gulabli village of Aghdam district. My family is already going through the second war. My father was born on January 20, so he never celebrates his birthday. At that time, Azerbaijan faced, perhaps, even more difficulties than what Ukraine is experiencing now. There are many similarities between the events in Ukraine and the events that took place in Azerbaijan in the early 1990s. For example, media broadcasts were suspended in both cases, the Khojaly tragedy is even more terrible than the events of Bucha and Mariupol, but unfortunately, very few people know about it. In Ukraine, this information should be shared so that people do not repeat the same mistakes.

Russia is acting in the same way, we are only now aware of the issue because we are faced with it now. My father dedicated his life to helping internally displaced people from Karabakh. My father used to bring those people to our house and help them. Now, when I analyze all this, I understand that this trait is inherited in my blood. Although I haven’t lived in Ukraine for six years, something still brings me back, and this is the third time I have come to Ukraine during the war. I can already tell you about the events that happened in the early 1990s. There are Azerbaijanis living in Ukraine who also talk about this. We must learn from history. Ukraine should learn from the mistakes of others. Unfortunately, many mistakes have already been made and now we need to get our land back and punish those who killed and abused our people. I hope that justice will prevail in the end.”

 

This article originally appeared on Oxu.az on July 17, 2023.