YEREVAN. – The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has begun considering the case into the death of Armenian citizen Manvel Saribekyan, who had died in Azerbaijani captivity.

The attorney of this case, European Convention expert Ara Ghazaryan, told the aforesaid to Armenian News-NEWS.am.

In his words, Azerbaijan is the defendant in this case.

Shepherd Manvel Saribekyan, a resident of Ttujur of Armenia’s Gegharkunik Province, had died in a prison in Azerbaijan, back in 2010.  

Saribekyan was taken into Azerbaijan’s captivity in September 2010, and Azerbaijan persistently called him an Armenian saboteur. Later, it was reported that he had allegedly hanged himself on October 5. The Armenian side, however, stated that he was either killed or forced to commit a suicide; this was proved by the fact that the Azerbaijani side refused to return his body for a month. On November 4, Azerbaijan handed his body to the Armenian side, and under an agreement reached by Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian leaders during their meeting in Astrakhan.

The Armenian side instituted criminal proceedings under Article 104 of the Armenian Criminal Code (murder committed with extreme cruelty due to national, racial or religious hatred or religious fanaticism).

Results of forensic examination revealed that the death of Manvel Saribekyan was caused by mechanical asphyxia by compression of the neck, which means he either hanged himself or was hanged. Signs of torture and violence inflicted one or two days before his death also were found on his body. 

The complaint submitted to the ECtHR states that no matter what was the cause of Saribekyan’ death, Azerbaijan is responsible, under its exclusive jurisdiction, for the life of a person in its prison. 

In addition, the Armenian shepherd was subjected to torture prior to his death, whereupon an imitation suicide was committed to conceal the traces of this crime.

Furthermore, Azerbaijan did not ensure the conducting of an independent official investigation on the basis of the evidence on torture and death.  

What is more, the Azerbaijani authorities refuse to collaborate with Armenia, within the framework of the 1993 Minsk convention on international legal protection mechanisms.