KARTES: Azerbaijani Soldier Aimed a Rifle at Human Rights Defender

The Human Rights Defender of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, wrote on his Facebook page: “An Azerbaijani soldier aimed a rifle at us. The Human Rights Defender of Armenia personally confirmed that the presence of Azerbaijani armed forces on the roads in Syunik is a real danger to human life. Last week, we ascertained that the presence of Azerbaijani soldiers on the roads between communities in Syunik severely violates people's fundamental rights to life and freedom of movement.

In particular, during our visits to the communities of Kapan and Tegh in the Syunik province, we stopped on the M2 interstate road for 1-2 minutes in areas where Azerbaijani armed forces are stationed. We were trying to understand what would happen if for some objective reason, say due to a vehicle breakdown or a traveler's health condition worsening, a civilian vehicle were to stop in that area. Of course, we were in civilian cars ourselves.

This photo shows the part of the road between Shurnukh and David Bek villages in Goris, depicting one of the Azerbaijani posts. As soon as we stopped, an Azerbaijani soldier noticed us, immediately entered a building (shed), and came out holding a rifle aimed at us. In another location, after 1-2 minutes of standing still, the Azerbaijani soldiers began to make restless movements with their weapons, observing us through binoculars, and then started whistling and shouting.

We personally verified that the mere presence of Azerbaijani armed soldiers on the roads between communities in Syunik violates the fundamental rights to life, free movement, and other vital rights of the civilian population of Armenia. These findings, along with relevant evidence, will be laid out as a basis for the concept of a security zone and will also be submitted to international relevant bodies.

The Azerbaijani deployment between our two villages is represented through Google Earth program in the photo.