YEREVAN. – We expect that on the basis of the killing or causing the death of a person held captive in Azerbaijan, the ECHR will make similar decisions in the cases of Karen Petrosyan and Mamikon Khojoyan with a precedent right, given that one was killed and the other died of torture. Armenia's first ombudsperson, human rights activist Larisa Alaverdyan told this to Armenian News-NEWS.am.
In her words, one can sometimes question the absolute impartiality of the ECHR judges' decisions.
"But in this case, the European Court's ruling in the case of Manvel Saribekyan should be highly appreciated," she noted. “Only the amount of €60,000 as compensation for the moral damage done to the family of the victim is surprising. I would have liked the ECHR to more adequately assess the amount of compensation for human life. "
As reported earlier, the ECHR yesterday delivered a judgment in case of Saribekyan and Balyan v. Azerbaijan.
The Court held that there has been a violation of Article 2 of the Convention (right to life) in respect of the death of Manvel Saribekyan; a violation of Article 2 of the Convention in respect of the inadequacy of the investigation into the death of Manvel Saribekyan and there has been a violation of Article 3 (prohibits torture, and “inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”) of the Convention in respect of the torture of Manvel Saribekyan.
The Court obliged Azerbaijan to pay 60,000 euros in respect of non-pecuniary damage and 2,200 euros in respects of costs and expenses.
Manvel Saribekyan, resident of Ttu Jur village of Armenia, was taken into Azerbaijan’s captivity in September 2010. Saribekyan was a civilian, a shepherd, while Azerbaijan persistently called him an Armenian “saboteur”. Later it was reported he allegedly hang himself on October 5.
The Armenian side claimed he was either killed or forced to commit a suicide. It 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 under agreement reached by Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian leaders during their meeting in Astrakhan last October.
Mamikon Khojoyan, 77, a resident of Verin Karmiraghbyur village of Armenia’s Tavush Province, was killed in Spring 2014, as a result of an injection made while in an Azerbaijani prison.
And in the summer of 2014, Karen Petrosyan, 3, a resident of Chinar village of Tavush Province, had accidentally crossed the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and ended up in Azerbaijani captivity. Sometime thereafter, information was received about his death.
