Footage of Armenian Captures by Azerbaijan Recorded Immediately After Release: Armenia's Human Rights Defender

The new data circulating online since yesterday regarding the captures of the Armenian side by the Azerbaijani armed forces, including videos, were recorded immediately after their release.

According to various data provided to the Office of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, citizens themselves claim to have recognized their family members or relatives. Our office has received alerts about this from late yesterday evening to the present moment.

All data has also been communicated to the representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Armenia, along with the details available at this time. We emphasize that within the framework of the Human Rights Defender's authority, we have undertaken all possible actions related to documentation and identification of individuals since last night.

Close collaborative work is being conducted with the Human Rights Defender of Artsakh. However, we also clearly state that state authorities are obliged to act with exceptional proactivity to verify, confirm, and provide appropriate information to family members regarding the facts of capture or specific timeframes related to abductions, whether or not a request has been made.

It is particularly important to note that in such cases, they are required to urgently convey information about the steps they are undertaking. This should always be a prevailing principle of their work. Otherwise, misinformation will only deepen the uncertainty and sense of vulnerability in society, which already poses systemic risks.

This was stated in a post by Armenia's Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan.