Azerbaijan Hinders Entry of 25 Armenian Pilgrims to Dadivank on April 25, Reports Artsakh Ombudsman

On April 25, Azerbaijani forces obstructed the entry of 25 Armenian pilgrims to Dadivank, where Armenian Apostolic Church officials were set to conduct an ordination ceremony. This was announced by Artsakh Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan on his Facebook page.

“On April 25, Azerbaijani forces hindered the entry of 25 Armenian pilgrims to Dadivank, where Armenian Apostolic Church officials were scheduled to perform an ordination ceremony. By obstructing the faithful's access to Dadivank under obviously false and baseless pretexts, Azerbaijani military personnel have aimed to disrupt an important spiritual ceremony of the Armenian Apostolic Church,” he stated.

He emphasized that this action constitutes a violation of the agreement reached with Russian peacekeepers, which stipulates that Armenian believers can enter and conduct spiritual ceremonies at the Dadivank monastery.

The rights and freedoms of religious and cultural expression are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other fundamental international documents, and their violation is an infringement upon human dignity, rights, and freedoms. Declaring itself a country of cultural and religious diversity, Azerbaijan disregards internationally recognized norms, insults, desecrates, and destroys the cultural values of the Armenian people in the territories under its occupation, systematically erasing Armenian inscriptions and traces, and artificially obstructing Armenian believers' access to spiritual places.

The Artsakh Ombudsman will also notify relevant international bodies about this incident, calling for effective mechanisms to address Azerbaijan's illegal actions.