Yesterday, on December 7, a video was published with the participation of the Speaker of the RA National Assembly, Alen Simonyan, in which he gives false assessments of the RA Human Rights Defender and our August 9, 2021 “Azerbaijan's responsibility for torture and inhumane treatment of Armenian prisoners of war (POWs)” special public report.
Firstly, we consider it impermissible to record the private conversation of a person without their knowledge and permission, and to share it.
In connection with what is attributed and qualified in the joint special report, we note:
RA National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan attributes non-existent facts to the joint special report. For example, he notes that the report recorded cases of rape of repatriated POWs. However, there is no mention of rape in the report.
In the joint urgent public report, no personal data of any of the captives, including photos or videos, has ever been published.
We inform that international standards of fact-finding were used to confirm the facts of the torture of POWs in the joint special public report. In this regard, the fact-finding work on the confirmation of torture does not imply that the human rights lawyers conducting the fact-finding work need to be present or participate in the torture.
Persons holding high positions are obligated to separate the fact-finding work and complicity.
The joint special public report does not identify or disclose the repatriated POWs who were subjected to torture and inhumane treatment. Instead, the joint special public report highlights the patterns and general forms of torture that, as a rule, were applied to Armenian POWs in the Republic of Azerbaijan. At the same time, the joint special public report states that the forms and means of violence used against the POWs were different in each case.
In addition, the repatriated Armenian POWs gave interviews to various media on their own, openly presenting the persecutions they were subjected to during their stay in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Moreover, testimonies of repatriated Armenian POWs about torture and inhumane treatment during the preliminary investigation were published by the RA preliminary investigation bodies.
It’s necessary to emphasize that providing abstract information when presenting data on torture and inhumane treatment of Armenian POWs to international structures is useless. When initiating international legal proceedings, detailed and concrete data is needed, not statements and claims.
Therefore, we strongly urge high-ranking officials to refrain from public statements on such sensitive issues, not to use them for political or other purposes, because Azerbaijan successfully uses this to defend itself in front of international structures, including courts, for its own benefit and to the detriment of the Armenian POWs’ rights.
False statements or qualifications given about professional reports by high-ranking officials create obstacles for human rights activities.
Arman Tatoyan
Human Rights Defender of Armenia
Siranush Sahakyan
Defender of the interests of Armenian prisoners in the ECHR, Human Rights Lawyer
Artak Zeinalyan
Defender of the interests of Armenian prisoners in the ECHR, Human Rights Lawyer