Azerbaijanis threatened ICRC employee and daughter of abducted 68-year-old Nagorno-Karabakh resident – Tatoyan Center
YEREVAN, July 31. /ARKA/. Armenia’s ex-human rights defender Arman Tatoyan, who is now head of Tatoyan Law and Justice Center, met with Vera, the daughter of 68-year-old Nagorno-Karabakh resident Vagif Khachatryan, who was abducted by Azerbaijan last week, when being transported from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia for medical treatment by the International Committee of Red Cross. Tatoyan spoke also with the other daughter of Khachatryan, Inga, who accompanied her father at the time of his abduction.
According to Tatoyan Center, there were no Azerbaijani medical personnel on site to check Khachatryan's health condition, as initially claimed by Azerbaijani authorities and the persons who introduced themselves as medical workers asked only 1-2 formal questions, after which they sent Khachatryan to the so-called headquarters for a conversation.
"When ICRC representatives and the daughter demanded explanations and tried to prevent Khachatryan's on-site interrogation and handover, Azerbaijani armed officers threatened to use force against the daughter and one of the ICRC representatives," Tatoyan said.
"Then an armed Azerbaijani serviceman named Ahmed pushed Vagif Khachatryan out into the street and took him to an unknown direction without any explanation. At first, one of the ICRC representatives went with them, but the Azerbaijani military forced him some time later to return without Khachatryan," Tatoyan said.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the ICRC provides the parties with the lists of patients to be transported in advance and carries out their transportation only after the consent of the parties.
It said a statement full of false narratives and accusations issued by the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan right after the abduction shows that this operation was thoroughly planned in advance.
Moreover, the statement contains an open threat to apply the same approach to other residents of Nagorno-Karabakh as well.
‘This mode of operation by Azerbaijan is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law: the arrest of a person under the protection of international humanitarian law and the ICRC is nothing short of a war crime. It is also aimed at completely blocking the ICRC activities in Nagorno-Karabakh, while Azerbaijan continues the blockade of the Lachin corridor and hinders in general the access of other humanitarian organizations to Nagorno-Karabakh,’ the statement said.
‘This arbitrariness of Azerbaijan, carried out in parallel with the complete blockade of the Lachin corridor and refusal to address the issues of rights and security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, is aimed at terrorizing the Nagorno-Karabakh population and in case of absence of international engagement once again casts serious doubt on the possibility of not only ensuring the minimal rights of the Nagorno-Karabakh people, but also on the possibility of realizing the right to life.
We consider the criminal act committed by Azerbaijan today and the ongoing blockade of the Lachin corridor unacceptable and reprehensible. We expect united and clear-cut steps by the international community, including using existing tools aimed at restoring unimpeded movement through the Lachin corridor, ensuring the activities of international humanitarian organizations in Nagorno-Karabakh as well as humanitarian access to Nagorno-Karabakh,’ the statement said.-0-.
