Serious Pressure Exerted on Official: Sahakyan Comments on Klaar's Statement

During a "Facebook press conference," human rights defender Siranush Sahakyan, who advocates for the rights of Armenian prisoners of war at the ECHR, commented on the statement made by the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia, Toivo Klaar. Sahakyan described Klaar's comments as a part of a political strategy that artificially equates the two states. They do not respond to unilateral incidents; if they dare to respond, it is invariably under significant political pressure from the Azerbaijani authorities, and they find ways to deflect blame.

“Serious pressure has been exerted on this official, and to soften the situation, they started talking about such videos,” she said. Sahakyan noted that both Azerbaijani and Armenian armed forces' abuses are being studied, and according to her, the Armenian side is also prepared to hold the wrongdoers accountable if such incidents have occurred.

“I can say that during our fact-finding efforts, we have not been able to find a single video in which Armenian servicemen are executing Azerbaijani servicemen,” Sahakyan stated.

It is noteworthy that Klaar had previously referenced a horrifying video circulating online showing Azerbaijani armed forces executing Armenian prisoners of war, emphasizing that if the authenticity of the video is confirmed, it constitutes a war crime that must be investigated, and those responsible must be punished. However, today, Klaar made a contrary statement claiming to have seen a video depicting Armenians treating Azerbaijani captives cruelly.