Closure of Goris-Kapan Road Planned By Azerbaijani Authorities Constitutes Clear Crime, Says Armenian Ombudsman

It is clear to me that the closure of the Goris-Kapan road in Syunik is a premeditated and obvious crime against the entire civilian population of Armenia by the Azerbaijani authorities. Their armed forces have simply executed this crime based on a provocation of their own invention, stated Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan.

For the second day, Azerbaijani armed forces have kept closed the interstate road leading from Goris to Kapan. As a result, several villages, including Vorotan and Shurnukh in Goris, Vardazhan and a neighborhood of Nor Arajadzor in Kapan, have been almost completely cut off from other localities. These villages are facing severe restrictions on access to food, essential goods, and medical services, placing them at real risk of a humanitarian crisis.

The actions of the Azerbaijani armed forces have severely restricted the freedom of movement of the civilian population in these villages, including children, women, and the elderly. Consequently, the Tatev-Kapan road has been heavily burdened.

These actions by the Azerbaijani armed forces have triggered massive human rights violations in Armenia, disrupting the free movement of people, access to medical services, and undermining the normal life of the civilian population, along with other internationally guaranteed vital rights. In addition, the movement of various goods, including trucks transporting business cargo and people's movement between Iran and Armenia has been severely restricted. In other words, the free movement along the Armenia-Iran route has been paralysed.

Under my direct leadership, on both yesterday and today, fact-finding work and analyses of complaints and the situation have clearly shown that the two segments of the Goris-Kapan road have been closed by the instruction of the highest Azerbaijani authorities. They bear direct responsibility for these criminal acts that have completely disrupted people's safety, peaceful life, and tranquility, creating tension throughout society.

These actions consistently reaffirm my increasingly substantiated claims that the very presence of Azerbaijani soldiers near Armenian villages and along roads in Syunik violates the right to life, freedom of movement, property rights, a normal life, and other vital rights.

Our state must operate under the principle that “every minute is precious” and strategically utilize international mechanisms. Throughout the day, my staff has been in contact with residents and local self-governing bodies.

Yesterday and today, the border troops of Armenia's National Security Service have played an irreplaceable role in ensuring the safety of the civilian population. We regularly send reports about the true situation and the objective results of fact-finding work to international bodies, including individual officials of these bodies such as the UN, Council of Europe, EU, OSCE, and also to Armenian authorities.