Armenia Ombudsman held at gunpoint by Azeri soldier

PanARMENIAN.Net - An Azerbaijani serviceman held Armenia's Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan at gunpoint last week, Tatoyan said in a statement on Monday, August 23, expressing conviction that the presence of the Azerbaijani military on the roads of Syunik is a real threat to the residents of Armenia.

"On our way back from Kapan in Syunik province (on the M2 Interstate road), we stopped for 1-2 minutes in areas where armed Azerbaijani servicemen are deployed. We were trying to understand what would happen if, for some objective reason, for example, a civilian car stops in that area because of a vehicle malfunction or some health reasons. We, of course, were in civilian cars," Tatoyan wrote.

"This photo illustrates one of the Azerbaijani locations; the section of the road between Shurnukh (Goris) and Davit Bek (Kapan). Once we stopped one of Azerbaijani armed serviceman noticed us, he entered his hut, immediately came back with his rifle and directed it upon us․"

"After standing for 1-2 minutes in another place, the Azerbaijani armed servicemen started making restless movements, following us with binoculars, then they started whistling and clamoring.

Tatoyan believes the experience is proof enough that the presence of the Azerbaijani servicemen on the roads between communities of Syunik is a violation of the right to life; right to free movement and other vital rights of the Armenian civilian population

"These justifications with relevant evidence will be used for the concept of creating a security zone and will also be sent to the relevant international bodies," the HRD added.