Impunity Will Lead to New Atrocities and Tortures, Tatoyan on Prisoners

The Human Rights Defender of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, made the following post on his Facebook page: "We have just completed another phase of investigating evidence and legal formalizations regarding the atrocities committed by the Azerbaijani forces against our prisoners of war and civilian individuals during this war. The torture and brutality inflicted by the Azerbaijani armed forces are extensive, and there are evident characteristics of war crimes driven by ethnic hatred.

Severe war crimes have been committed, and documenting evidence regarding these acts, as well as consolidating grounds for holding the Azerbaijani authorities criminally accountable, is extremely urgent. It must be shown, for instance, how many Azerbaijani soldiers' identities have been clarified among such a large number of cases (especially since many are visibly identifiable in videos and photographs) or what actions have been taken to clarify their identities, how many Azerbaijani soldiers have been put on wanted lists, and who specifically from the Azerbaijani authorities has committed crimes and what steps have been taken to hold them criminally accountable.

The government of Armenia must convey these important messages not only to our public, for whom these issues are a significant priority, but also to the international community and directly to the Azerbaijani authorities. The Azerbaijani authorities must understand that they will not remain unpunished for the gross violations of human rights, war crimes, systemic propaganda of hatred, and genocidal policies. It is necessary to demonstrate that all efforts are being made in our country for this purpose. Impunity will lead to new atrocities and tortures. We must not allow this; every day and hour is precious…"