Azerbaijan, being a CoE member and a party to the European Convention on Human Rights, today violates rights…

YEREVAN. – The Human Rights Defender of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR/Artsakh) will help NKR citizens petition to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) regarding Azerbaijan’s atrocities, NKR Ombudsman Yuri Hayrapetyan told Zhoghovurd daily newspaper.

“I have petitioned to High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, [and] Council of Europe [(CoE)] Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muižnieks,” Hayrapetyan also told Zhoghovurd. “Furthermore, being a member of the European Ombudsman Institute, I have petitioned to the president and secretary general of this institute, and to other European NGOs. In my petition, I asked that they use the capacity of the Ombudsman institution to petition to the European countries which are included in this system, calling on Azerbaijan that the latter stop its aggressive actions. 

“At the moment, (…) we are engaged in studying how many people were affected in these atrocities.

“I find that what happened is a crime, and the NKR Prosecutor General’s Office is dealing with this matter; but we also have things to do. Our priority is that we help people petition to the European Court of Human Rights, to protest Azerbaijan’s actions. The thing that Azerbaijan, being a CoE member, a party to the European Convention [on Human Rights], today violates rights, is also important here.

“The NKR Prosecutor General’s Office has launched criminal proceedings [against Azerbaijan’s atrocities] (…) People are recognized as victims of these crimes, facts are recorded, people are questioned, and this process goes on.”