Armenian Human Rights Defender Kristinne Grigoryan today rebuked the international community for not exerting sufficient pressure on Baku to prosecute those publishing videos of Armenian POWs being tortured. She released the following statement.

On October 11 a video disseminated on Azerbaijani social network depicts another case of torture of unarmed Armenian Prisoners of War, which in turn proves that the following killing of those Armenian POWs by the Azerbaijani military. Yet again, Azerbaijani Armed Forces record the facts of their war crimes. The Human Rights Defender’s Office has located the place, and we confirm that the incident took place during the Azerbaijani military attack on the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia on September 13, 2022. The Armenian Prisoners of War shown in the video have been identified.

These facts, in addition to other evidence, are confirmed by the testimonies of Armenian Prisoners of War who had been repatriated on October 4, 2022.

The mentioned facts with respective details have been documented and will be sent to specialized international organizations and actors.

The Defender underlines that the grave crimes committed by Azerbaijani servicemen remains unaddressed, and this impunity encourages and inspires new and more grave crimes. These acts should be clearly condemned by competent international actors. The international community should have a more consistent demand for the Azerbaijani authorities to conduct a proper investigation, and to punish the criminals and the organizers instead of decorating them with medals.