Azerbaijan Forces ICRC Representative Out of Vehicle, Says Artsakh Human Rights Defender

The Human Rights Defender of Artsakh has published findings regarding the abduction of Vagif Khachatryan by Azerbaijan. On July 29, in coordination with the Azerbaijani side and accompanied by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), a convoy transporting patients from Artsakh to Armenia reached the illegal Azerbaijani checkpoint near the Hakari Bridge around 09:30.

During the passport check, Vagif Khachatryan, a resident of the Patara community born in 1955, presented his passport to representatives of the Azerbaijani border service, who subsequently did not return it. When asked by Vagif Khachatryan’s daughter and the ICRC representative why the passport was not returned, the Azerbaijani officials replied that it would be provided in 5 minutes.

During this time, Vagif was escorted to a medical room located at the illegal checkpoint, where he was questioned about his health and the reasons for transferring to Armenia. He was then informed that he needed to be escorted to one of the rooms near the checkpoint for a few more questions. Vagif’s daughter and the ICRC representative insisted that these questions could be asked right at the checkpoint, with no need for him to be moved. After this, the Azerbaijanis threatened to use force to carry out their plan.

At the same time, numerous Azerbaijani servicemen armed with automatic rifles had gathered near the checkpoint. Vagif Khachatryan and the foreign representative from the ICRC were put into a Niva vehicle, which headed towards the lower part of the Hakari bridge. About 10 minutes later, the ICRC representative returned to the checkpoint in a Chevrolet vehicle, while Vagif Khachatryan was taken in an unknown direction. According to reports, the Azerbaijani officials forcibly pulled the ICRC representative out of the vehicle.

All these actions occurred in the presence of Vagif Khachatryan’s daughter, who tried to do everything possible to prevent her father's abduction but was threatened with the use of force.

68-year-old Vagif Khachatryan suffers from cardiovascular disease and was being transferred to the Norq Medical Center in Yerevan for surgery. Before transporting patients to healthcare institutions in Armenia, the ICRC obtains agreements from all parties involved, including the Azerbaijani side, thus assuming responsibility for their safe transfer.

The criminal case initiated by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan against Vagif Khachatryan and the so-called detention of him is a false and fabricated pretext for his abduction. Information and investigations conducted by the Human Rights Defender’s Office of Armenia have confirmed that there are no records of an international warrant regarding Vagif Khachatryan.

Consequently, Vagif Khachatryan is considered a person under international humanitarian protection, for whom the Artsakh Human Rights Defender demands the ICRC to issue a public statement evaluating this Azerbaijani crime, to undertake all actions stemming from the ICRC’s mandate to return Vagif Khachatryan to Artsakh, to ensure protection of his rights until his return, and to eliminate manifestations of torture, mistreatment, and inhumane treatment.

International organizations and the governments of individual states should be presented with facts about the abduction of an Artsakh citizen by Azerbaijan and the systematic implementation of ethnic cleansing and genocidal crimes against the people of Artsakh to ensure necessary international pressure.

International organizations should take into consideration the alerts raised by the ICRC and numerous international human rights organizations regarding the wide-scale violations of the rights of the people of Artsakh by Azerbaijan, and impose coercive and punitive measures against Azerbaijan for non-compliance with its internationally assumed obligations.

The Lachin corridor, including the Hakari bridge, is under the control of Russian peacekeeping forces according to the 2020 tripartite statement. The abduction of Vagif Khachatryan occurred just a few meters from a Russian peacekeeping outpost near the Hakari bridge, where no actions were taken by the peacekeepers to prevent this incident.

Considering that the Lachin corridor is viewed as a territory under the control of Russian peacekeepers and that the Russian Federation is a guarantor of the implementation of the provisions of the tripartite statement, all actions must be taken by Russia to return Vagif Khachatryan to Artsakh and restore full control over the Lachin corridor to prevent the recurrence of abductions of Artsakh citizens by Azerbaijan.