Azerbaijan's actions are blatant violation of international humanitarian law. The detention of a person who is under the protection of international humanitarian law and the ICRC can only be characterized as a war crime, says the statement of Armenian Foreign Ministry in connection with the kidnapping of an Artsakh citizen by the Azerbaijani side.
“On July 29, 68-year-old Vagif Khachatryan, who was being transported from [Artsakh] Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia with serious health problems, accompanied by the International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC] for treatment, was kidnapped by representatives of the Azerbaijani border service at an illegal checkpoint in the [Berdzor] Lachin Corridor and taken away in an unknown direction without any explanation.
We consider it necessary to emphasize that ICRC provides the parties with the lists of patients to be transported in advance and carries out their transfer only after agreement. The dissemination of a message filled with false narratives and accusations by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan immediately after the kidnapping shows that this action was carefully planned in advance. Moreover, the message explicitly threatens to apply the same approach to other residents of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan's actions are a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. The detention of a person who is under the protection of international humanitarian law and the ICRC can only be qualified as a war crime. These actions are also aimed to completely disorganize ICRC activities in Nagorno-Karabakh, while Azerbaijan continues to block the Lachin Corridor and generally prevents other humanitarian organizations from entering Nagorno-Karabakh.
It is noteworthy that the actions of the Azerbaijani authorities represent a direct implementation of the statement made on May 28 by the President of this country that “the installation of a checkpoint in the Lachin corridor will be a lesson for the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh” and [implementation of] the constant threats, about which the Armenian side has repeatedly warned international partners, calling for the condemnation of these and similar statements. Azerbaijan's actions directly indicate that the alarming reports of ethnic cleansing, which have been voiced by Armenia for a long time, reflect the seriousness of the existing threat.
Moreover, this once again shows the bankruptcy of the arguments of the Azerbaijani side regarding not returning Armenian prisoners of war and civilians illegally held in Baku after the [Artsakh] 44-day war, as well as military personnel abducted on May 26 of this year from the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia and holding fabricated trials against them.
These actions, in parallel with blocking the Lachin corridor and refusing to address the issues of the rights and security of the people of NK, are aimed at intimidating the population of NK and once again cast serious doubt on the possibility of not only ensuring the minimum rights of the people of NK, but also the realization of the right to life in the absence of international involvement․
We consider unacceptable and deserving of condemnation the criminal act committed by Azerbaijan today and the ongoing blockade of the Lachin corridor. We expect unified and clear steps by the international community, including the use of existing tools aimed at restoring unhindered movement along the Lachin corridor, ensuring the activities of international humanitarian organizations in Nagorno-Karabakh and ensuring humanitarian access to Nagorno-Karabakh," the statement reads.
