Justifications for Torture of Detainees Presented by Tatoyan and Siranush Sahakyan to CoE Rapporteurs

The Human Rights Defender of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, received a delegation of high-level rapporteurs from the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers yesterday, led by the delegation’s head, the Permanent Representative of Sweden to the Council of Europe, Ambassador Martin Ehnhberg. The Permanent Representative of Armenia to the Council of Europe, Paruir Hovhannisyan, was also present at the meeting.

Arman Tatoyan, along with human rights defender Siranush Sahakyan, presented evidence of war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces during the war in Artsakh in November-December 2020. He noted that the Azerbaijani armed attacks were accompanied by inhumane and brutal treatment, including beheadings and torture of both prisoners of war and civilian captives.

Tatoyan provided evidence that anti-Armenian sentiment in Azerbaijan is a closed loop, generated by the Azerbaijani authorities, including high-ranking officials, and then widely utilized and encouraged by cultural, sports, and public figures, often lauding targeting children.

He also reported violations of the rights of residents living along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border by the Azerbaijani authorities.

Tatoyan emphasized that issues related to the Armenian state border should be viewed from a human rights perspective to ensure that these rights are not pushed to the sidelines or that state capabilities to protect them are restricted.

He detailed that as a result of Azerbaijan's illegal actions, people have been deprived of homes, land, and pastures that they have owned since Soviet times, leading to serious social and security issues.

The illegal presence of Azerbaijani soldiers in Armenia’s sovereign territory, for example, near Lake Sevan, has created severe security problems for surrounding communities, which are now at risk, while Azerbaijani soldiers are also firing shots.

Additionally, residents are unable to engage in livestock farming, which is a source of income for their families, and in the Gegharkunik and Syunik regions, they cannot keep large and small cattle close to pastures or provide them with water—jeopardizing access to water resources not only in Syunik but also in Gegharkunik. Furthermore, several villages are deprived of water.

Tatoyan highlighted that simply demarcating the border with Azerbaijan, without creating security zones and removing Azerbaijani armed personnel, their signs, and cameras, will not only fail to ensure the rights of Armenian citizens, especially those bordering Azerbaijan, but will also lead to new violations of rights and escalated tensions.

During the meeting, both Arman Tatoyan and Siranush Sahakyan addressed the urgency of returning Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan, noting that portraying them as “terrorists” or “saboteurs” grossly violates international demands. Sahakyan stated that all Armenian military personnel and civilians are classified as detainees and must be immediately released and returned to their homeland without any political or other preconditions, while Azerbaijani authorities are artificially delaying and politicizing the process, grossly violating the rights of the detainees and their families, causing them suffering, and creating societal tensions.

Tatoyan and Sahakyan noted that violations will continue as long as the Azerbaijani side remains unaccountable for war crimes.

The delegation also included ambassadors representing Russia, France, Finland, Andorra, Estonia, Iceland, and Switzerland at the Council of Europe, as well as Verena Taylor, the head of the Programs Directorate of the CoE Secretary General, and Martina Schmidt, the head of the CoE office in Yerevan, among others.