Armenia Ombudsman will inform int'l agencies about Azeri killings of POWs

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Human Rights Defender of Armenia will be sending video and photo evidence of the Azerbaijani military’s execution of two Armenian prisoners of war to relevant international agencies, the Ombudsman's office said Thursday, October 15.

One of the videos depicts the killing of a young soldier and an elderly man with a short gray beard after being taken prisoner by Azeri troops, who are seen grabbing the old man from his jacket and pushing him to the ground. The Azerbaijani soldiers then wrap both of them in Armenian flags and shoot them from machine guns for a long time.

"In the videos, members of the Azerbaijani army humiliate prisoners of war and brutally kill them with extreme cynicism. The behavior and speech of Azerbaijani army members are full of hate speech," the Defender's office said.

"The videos have been released from Azerbaijani sources today and have been widely spread, also by targeting children and the elderly. Afterwards, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry released a statement denying any relation to their military. Following this statement, Azerbaijani internet sources started to remove the videos."

The videos, however, have been duly documented by the Office of the Human Rights Defender, as undeniable war crime evidence.

"Experts of the Human Rights Defender’s Office have accurately identified the location and time of Azerbaijan's criminal actions. Videos have been translated, subtitles have been added. The evidence will be sent to international agencies with the necessary descriptions," the Ombudsman's office said.

Azerbaijan, with help from Turkey and Syrian and Libyan mercenaries deployed by Ankara, started a war against Karabakh (Artsakh) in the morning of September 27. The Armenian side has reported deaths and injuries both among the civilian population and the military. Foreign and local journalists too have been injured in Azeri shelling of towns and villages.