The office of Armenia's Human Rights Defender has documented Armenophobic remarks made by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in a recent interview with CNN Türk. Excerpts from Aliyev's speech that contain hatred and enmity towards Armenians have been sent to all the members of parliament, Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan said on Friday, August 20.

"Those speeches generate hatred towards the entire Armenian nation, the population of Armenia and Artsakh, they contain threats, insulting and hostile expressions. These speeches disrupt peace," Tatoyan said in a statement.

"The atrocities against the Armenian military and civilians by the Azerbaijani armed forces, including beheadings, torture and killings, prove that the Azerbaijani armed forces were inspired by their Commander-in-Chief."

Dozens of videos of Azeri troops cutting the throats and ears of Armenians have been spreading online since the final days of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Azerbaijanis subject the Armenian POWs and captives to physical abuse and humiliation. The videos depict Azerbaijani captors variously slapping, kicking, and prodding Armenian POWs, and compelling them, under obvious duress and with the apparent intent to humiliate, to kiss the Azerbaijani flag. In most of the videos, the captors’ faces are visible, suggesting that they do not fear being held accountable.

According to Tatoyan, the direct consequences of such policies are the massive violations of the rights of the border residents of Armenia (shootings on villages, threats to civilians, thefts, etc.).

The Ombudsman said his team is constantly monitoring speeches and remarks delivered by the Baku authorities to document evidence of state-sponsored anti-Armenian policies in Azerbaijan.