Signs of torture and mutilation on the remains of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) who were killed during Azerbaijan’s attack in September were reported by the Human Rights Defender of Armenia Anahit Manasyan on Thursday. Manasyan noted that her preliminary report on the ill-treatment and torture in question was used by lawyers representing Armenia in a hearing at the International Court of Justice last week.
The report outlined findings of torture and mutilations on numerous bodies transported from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, including civilians, women and children. This evidence highlights the brutal acts alleged to have been committed during the conflict.
In November 2020, a Russian-brokered ceasefire was signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan, ending the six-week war over Nagorno-Karabakh. However, post-war tensions remained, with sporadic border clashes throughout 2021. On 12 December 2022, the Azerbaijani government allegedly orchestrated a blockade of the Republic of Artsakh by deploying citizens claiming to be eco-activists to obstruct the Lachin corridor, a vital humanitarian link between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia and the outside world, using environmental protests as a pretext. This blockade significantly impeded access to essential supplies for the residents of the region, notably in Stepanakert, the former de facto capital of Nagorno-Karabakh. The situation further escalated in September 2023 when Azerbaijan launched a swift offensive, leading to the dissolution of the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. This offensive triggered a mass exodus of local ethnic Armenians, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the region.
Manasyan, along with the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe, Dunja Mijatović, visited the Kotayk province on Wednesday and met with displaced Nagorno-Karabakh residents temporarily housed there. They spoke with around 105 forcibly displaced individuals, including 40 children.
“Private interviews were held with forcibly displaced persons. They presented the deprivations they suffered and the problems caused by the forced displacement to the Defender and the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe”, a statement from the office of Armenia’s Human Rights Defender revealed.
Following the ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Azeri media showcased Azerbaijan’s president İlham Aliyev trampling on the Artsakh flag in Stepanakert on 16 October.
