Elderly Armenian was tortured in Azeri captivity, doctors confirm

PanARMENIAN.Net - Against Legal Abuse NGO will apply to international organizations to defend the interests of the recently released Armenian captive Mamikon Khojoyan.

As the head of the organization, ex-MP Larisa Alaverdyan told a Thursday, March 6 news conference, Knojoyan's case will be brought to the attention of the European Court of Human rights, with a number of legal experts to be involved. The NGO intends to raise international awareness of the tortures Khojoyan was subjected to while in Azeri captivity, Armenia Today reported.

The 77-year-old man was tortured during his more than month-long captivity and needs to remain in hospital for the time being, doctors and his relatives said, according to RFE/RL Armenian service.

Immediately after being repatriated by Azerbaijani authorities on Tuesday, Khojoyan was taken to a hospital in the northern town of Ijevan. The 77-year-old had wounds all over his body and was barely able to speak.

“There are fractures and cuts on his head, arm and left leg. They are definitely the consequence of blows,” said Emil Brutyan, a senior hospital doctor.

Brutyan insisted that Khojoyan suffered those injuries after crossing into Azerbaijan and being detained by military authorities there on January 28. “He wasn’t injured more than a month ago,” he told RFE/RL Armenian service.

“He needs to be examined and undergo rehabilitation treatment for at least one week,” added the doctor. “We can’t say right now what hidden diseases we will detect a few days later.”

Khojoyan is being looked after not only by hospital staff but also some of his relatives. His daughter, Heghine Vartazaryan, said she was the only family member whom he recognized after being hospitalized.

“He says he was beaten up and injected with something,” said Vartazarian. “He said he was made to lie on a concrete floor littered with salt. They tortured him. His condition is terrible.”

The Armenian Defense Ministry effectively accused the Azerbaijani authorities of torturing Khojoyan on Tuesday when it confirmed news of his repatriation arranged by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry denied those accusations. Haqqin.az quoted a ministry spokesman as saying that Khojoyan was treated “in accordance with international norms.”

Meanwhile, according to Aysor.am, the representative of the Yerevan office of the International Committee of the Red Cross Zara Amatuni refused to comment on the condition of the elderly man, noting that ICRC fulfilled its mission of reclaiming the Armenian citizen.

Baku has claimed all along that the elderly resident of Verin Karmiraghbyur, an Armenian village close to the Azerbaijani border, was armed and acted as a guide for an Armenian “sabotage squad” that tried to carry out a cross-border incursion.

The Armenian military and the village administration have laughed off these claims, saying that Khojoyan suffers mental disorders and strayed into Azerbaijani territory by accident. Some Azerbaijani analysts have also brushed aside the official Azerbaijani version of his detention.