Executed Bodies Handed Over to Families as Legitimate Victims of Combat Operations, Says Sahakyan

In connection with the third Artsakh war, the 44-day conflict, and subsequent developments, we have 33 Armenian prisoners of war, and 17 confirmed new cases of abduction related to the attack on September 13, 2022. The names of the boys seen in the execution video are not reflected in the last 17 cases. When we refer to officially recognized POWs, it means that they are alive, and Azerbaijan acknowledges their captivity.

This was stated by international law expert and representative of Armenian POWs at the European Court of Human Rights, Siranuhi Sahakyan, during a press conference. She emphasized that according to available information, at least 80 individuals were abducted during the 2020 war, the fact of whose abduction has not yet been acknowledged by the Azerbaijani authorities. Similarly, the cases of abduction on September 13, 2022, were significantly more than the declared 17.

The video regarding the execution of POWs, in Sahakyan's assessment, serves as evidence that the actual number of abductions is higher—these individuals have simply been executed, and their bodies have been handed over as legitimate victims of combat operations. However, the notion of them being alive when killed in captivity has not been initially put forward. Therefore, to have an accurate picture, each body handed over should undergo detailed examinations and inspections to determine the circumstances of the injuries.

Amid significant casualties, the state is not carrying out consistent actions, and as a result, a number of casualties are perceived as victims of combat operations, while in reality, they are soldiers who have been extrajudicially executed under captivity conditions. Sahakyan noted that there were also cases of executions in 2020, both individual and collective, recalling the case of six servicemen in the forests of Hadrut, who had managed to survive for months but were executed and whose bodies were subsequently handed over by the Azerbaijani side.

Sahakyan pointed out that in areas where Armenian servicemen could be hidden, Azerbaijan prohibited any humanitarian activities, discovered surviving Armenian soldiers in a deteriorated state of health, and executed them inhumanely, handing over only the remains to the Armenian side.

“The policy of Azerbaijani atrocities has existed, is consistent, and will continue. Those who think they can build good friendly relations with Azerbaijan are exceedingly naive. To understand this, one must only look at the conflict's root causes. This conflict did not arise from territorial issues, but rather has ethnic origins. The issue of the eradication of the Armenian element has emerged, which has been implemented over the years, and in the name of self-determination, it has occurred as the only extreme measure. As long as the Armenian element exists and significant security measures to restrain it are not in place neighboring Azerbaijan, that policy will inevitably be realized over the years. We saw that the issue was not solely about Artsakh; had it only been about Artsakh, we would not have seen further developments since November 2020 or any military operations transferring to the sovereign territory of Armenia,” stated Siranuhi Sahakyan.