Azerbaijani Police Checkpoint and Barriers on Vorotan Road are Illegitimate: Human Rights Defender

The Human Rights Defender of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, stated on his Facebook page: "The Azerbaijani police checkpoint, barriers, and cameras on the Vorotan road are blatantly unlawful and should be removed immediately. This follows details from the fact-finding work of the Human Rights Defender. Since September 9, 2021, on the Yerevan-Kapan M2 interstate road, within the section near the community of Vorotan, Azerbaijani authorities have established a police checkpoint, which has been operational since September 11.

The fact-finding work has revealed gross human rights violations in that section of the road. In particular:

1. After the establishment of the Azerbaijani police checkpoint, a total of 10 cameras were installed in that section of the road. Four of the cameras are affixed to the building adjacent to the police checkpoint, two are on the front of the building, and the other two are on the roof. All cameras are directed towards the road. Six of the ten cameras are located right next to the checkpoint: four face the road, while two monitor the Azerbaijani armed personnel. Thus, a total of eight cameras are installed for road monitoring, capturing the movement of traffic participants, mainly civilian populations. The cameras apparently record all vehicle license plates, the number of passengers, as well as the faces of passengers and drivers, especially considering that the presence of barriers set up by Azerbaijani armed personnel has significantly slowed down vehicle speeds in that area.
2. The checkpoint is permanently staffed by at least four armed Azerbaijani officers, armed with rifles and other weaponry, who are masked, covering their entire faces. This is an absolute unacceptable and openly intimidating presence, given that this is an interstate road connecting communities, predominantly used by civilians. Moreover, the masked status of the Azerbaijani armed personnel increases the risk of serious unlawful acts and ensures impunity.
3. Barriers have been placed directly on the road adjacent to the Azerbaijani police checkpoint. Furthermore, armed personnel at the checkpoint unlawfully stop legitimate traffic on this road, particularly Iranian-registered cargo trucks, demanding illegal payments such as for not wearing seat belts. Reports have indicated that Iranian drivers have been coerced into paying sums of 3,000 AMD, 10,000 AMD, 120 USD, and 50 USD, among others, without any legal basis for such demands. There are several reports that Azerbaijani armed personnel present themselves as 'Armenians' to Iranian drivers.
4. Azerbaijani authorities have unlawfully seized the building and the adjacent land within Vorotan, where their armed personnel are stationed, which is located right next to the checkpoint, barriers, and cameras. This property belongs legally to an Armenian citizen, whose ownership rights are confirmed by a legal certificate issued by the State Committee of the Republic of Armenia in 2013. Azerbaijani armed forces took over this property immediately after the war, under the threat of armed attack upon the said Armenian citizen, who is the legal owner of the property, giving them a mere few hours to vacate. To this day, no compensation has been provided to the Armenian citizen for the unlawful deprivation of his rights, nor have there been any repercussions for this action.

This indicates that any Azerbaijani presence in the aforementioned building or land within Vorotan is inherently unlawful, having been established under threats of war against Armenia and the threat of armed attack upon the legal owner of the property, in blatant violation without any compensation of the right to ownership. Thus, all actions by Azerbaijani armed personnel, including those related to the police checkpoint, result in massive human rights violations. These actions are criminally punishable and lack any legal basis, prohibited directly by international human rights standards. Furthermore, it is essential to note that to date, there has been no delimitation or demarcation of the state border between the two countries. This means both the Azerbaijani police checkpoint and barriers, as well as the presence of Azerbaijani armed personnel in the Vorotan area of Goris community, hold no legal title. This fact further solidifies the evident unlawfulness of actions by Azerbaijani authorities and, in particular, armed personnel from the outset.

Therefore, both the Azerbaijani police checkpoint and barriers, as well as the armed personnel, must be removed immediately. The Human Rights Defender has reported this situation to international organizations (UN, OSCE, Council of Europe, etc.).