Human Rights Defender of Artsakh Reports on Azerbaijani Atrocities Over Two Years

The Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Artsakh, Gegham Stepanyan, has issued a statement regarding the violations of ceasefire and the rights of the peaceful population of Artsakh by Azerbaijan from 2020 to 2022.

“After the signing of the trilateral statement on November 9, 2020, the Azerbaijani side resorted to criminal actions leading to violations of the rights of the people of Artsakh, to which the office of the Human Rights Defender has regularly responded with statements. Over the past two years, hundreds of illegal acts and violations of international humanitarian law have been recorded, including ceasefire violations, psychological terror, disruption of the normal operation of infrastructure, hindering agricultural work, vandalism of cultural values, and other forms of rights violations that have led to the endangerment of the lives, physical and mental integrity, property, freedom of movement, personal and family life, cultural and religious rights, and inviolability of dignity of the people of Artsakh, as well as violations of prohibitions against torture, inhumane or degrading treatment, and discrimination.

Between November 10, 2020, and November 13, 2022, law enforcement agencies in Artsakh recorded 121 cases of crimes resulting in material and human damages. Among them, 18 individuals were killed (3 civilians, 15 military personnel), 132 individuals were subjected to attempted murder (54 civilians, 78 military), and 67 individuals sustained gunshot wounds and experienced physical violence (16 civilians).

Of the 8 individuals who accidentally found themselves in areas under Azerbaijani control, 5 were returned with clear signs of violence and torture, including fractures. Among those returned, 34-year-old Artak Manasyan, a livestock breeder from the Martuni region, died just months later.

Thirteen residential buildings were targeted, 8 agricultural machinery was damaged or destroyed, 22 vehicles and 16 other properties were damaged, 5 orchards were set on fire, and livestock, both small and large, were stolen from peaceful civilians. Animals that accidentally crossed into Azerbaijani-controlled pastures are not returned but rather stolen and used by representatives of Azerbaijani armed forces.

There are blatant obstacles to agricultural work being carried out in areas adjacent to the contact line. Targeted gunfire is directed at civilian individuals involved in agricultural work and agricultural machinery, resulting in the work being halted. Such criminal actions by the Azerbaijani side intensify especially during the agricultural season and harvest time. Azerbaijani military personnel sometimes directly enter fields and threaten those involved in harvesting to leave. Such conduct has resulted in the deaths of Aram Teptants, a farmer from the Martakert region, and Seyran Sargsyan, a livestock breeder from the Martuni region.

In an effort to exert pressure, the operation of vital infrastructure has repeatedly been disrupted, as noted in March 2022 when an explosion of a gas pipeline by Azerbaijan deprived the entire population of Artsakh of gas supply and heating for about 20 days. Communication and connectivity continue to be disrupted through the use of special jammers.

Despite calls and statements from various international organizations, monitoring of open sources has recorded more than a hundred cases of vandalism, destruction, and desecration of Armenian spiritual and cultural values, and cemeteries in areas under Azerbaijani occupation since the establishment of the ceasefire.

Azerbaijan continues a state-sponsored policy of anti-Armenianism at a national level. The promotion of hate is directly participated in by the President of Azerbaijan, ruling forces, and influential public figures. The methods of this so-called “patriotic” education based on hatred towards Armenians continue in Azerbaijani kindergartens and schools.

All these actions provide factual evidence of Azerbaijan’s behavior to ethnically cleanse Artsakh and subject its people to genocide. They are more eloquent than the false pacifism and deceptive promises made by the Azerbaijani leadership.