Azerbaijani Soldier Forcefully Removed Vagif Khachatryan, Arman Tatoyan Provides Details

The director of the Center for Law and Justice 'Tatoyan' Foundation, former Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan writes on Facebook: 'I just met with the daughter of the 68-year-old Vagif Khachatryan, who was abducted by Azerbaijan, Vera Khachatryan. During the meeting, we also spoke with his other daughter, who was present at the 'checkpoint' in Hakari with her father. All evidence confirms that the charges against Vagif Khachatryan posed by Azerbaijan are completely false and fabricated.

Firstly, the presence of allegedly medical personnel near the Hakari bridge is utterly fictitious. In reality, no medical examination was taking place; the individuals presenting themselves as medical workers only asked the 68-year-old citizen, sent to Armenia with instructions for urgent surgery, one or two formal questions.

Furthermore, the entire process at the 'checkpoint' was controlled by Azerbaijani armed servicemen. They ordered the citizen (the patient) with serious health issues to approach the Azerbaijani so-called 'medical team.' After that, they demanded to transfer the citizen to another location for a so-called headquarters interview.

When representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and Vagif Khachatryan's daughter, Tsovinar Khachatryan, asked for explanations and attempted to conduct the interview on-site, trying to prevent his transfer, Azerbaijani armed servicemen threatened to use force against the daughter and a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Moreover, when they tried to approach Vagif Khachatryan, about 30 Azerbaijani armed servicemen moved toward them, displaying their weapons openly.

Then, an armed serviceman named Ahmed forcefully removed Vagif Khachatryan and took him away without any explanation. Initially, one representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross accompanied them, but shortly after, under pressure from Azerbaijani armed servicemen, returned without Vagif Khachatryan.

Throughout this process, no medical worker accompanied Vagif Khachatryan, no medical documents were examined, and no medical assistance was provided. The entire process was exclusively monitored by Azerbaijani armed servicemen.

As already noted, Vagif Khachatryan's transfer to Armenia for treatment was agreed upon with the Azerbaijani authorities. This means the Azerbaijani side, having been informed in advance and with the clear intention of abducting him, deceived him into coming to their side.

Immediately after the incident, we stated that what occurred constitutes a war crime. It falls under Article 37 of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, which concerns the protection of victims of international armed conflicts (Protocol I, 8 June 1977). Azerbaijan has committed these criminal acts in complete violation of international regulations, through deceit and misinformation.'