Inhuman and Degrading Treatment of Soldiers Captured on November 16 Reported in Azerbaijan

Inhuman and degrading treatment has been reported towards soldiers captured on November 16 in Azerbaijan, causing suffering and leaving them without medical assistance, which resulted in the death of prisoner of war Arthur Martirosyan. This was confirmed by the Investigative Committee of Armenia in response to a written inquiry from ‘Factinfo’.

“During the preliminary investigation, factual data has been obtained regarding the torture of soldiers captured on November 16, 2021, the demonstration of inhuman and degrading treatment towards them, deliberately causing serious suffering, leaving the wounded soldier in a helpless state, and not providing necessary medical assistance, leading to the death of prisoner of war Arthur Jivani Martirosyan. Regarding these facts, a new criminal case has been initiated on December 20, 2021, with attributes of crimes provided for under parts 1, 2, and 3 of Article 390 of the RA Criminal Code, and has been joined to the main case,” the Investigative Committee reported in response to the written inquiry from ‘Factinfo’.

The investigative body stated that the criminal investigation continues regarding acts committed by the military-political leadership of the Republic of Azerbaijan as they unleashed and conducted an aggressive war against the Republic of Artsakh, employing pre-recruited mercenaries during military operations, utilizing prohibited methods and means of warfare, failing to distinguish between civilian populations and military personnel, and systematically targeting the civilian population of peaceful settlements in the Republic of Artsakh, particularly making non-selective targets of the civilian population and civilian objects in the deep rear and shelling them, which are considered serious violations of international humanitarian law.

Within the framework of the criminal proceedings, cases related to serious violations of international humanitarian law norms committed against Armenian soldiers as a result of the acts of aggression have been highlighted, including killings, torture, degrading treatment, deliberately causing severe suffering, or other actions threatening the physical or mental state of individuals.

According to the Investigative Committee, the identities of several individuals who committed crimes have also been identified, and they have been involved as defendants, with arrest as a measure of restraint applied to them. The Investigative Committee did not disclose the number of accused Azerbaijani servicemen and noted that it cannot provide further details regarding the requested information as it contains data not subject to publication.