ECHR judgment: Azerbaijan authorities responsible for torture, death of Armenian captive in 2010

YEREVAN, JANUARY 30, ARMENPRESS. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has found in the Saribekyan and Balyan v. Azerbaijan case that the Azerbaijani authorities had been responsible for the torture and death of Manvel Saribekyan, an Armenian national who had been detained in a military police cell in Baku.

The ECHR recognized that Saribekyan’s right to life has been violated, and that Azerbaijan violated the Article 3 (prohibition of torture and ill-treatment).

The Court held by six votes to one that Azerbaijan was to pay the applicants (Saribekyan’s next-of-kin) 60,000 euros (EUR) jointly in respect of non-pecuniary damage and EUR 2,200 in respect of costs and expenses.

Manvel Saribekyan, a resident of the Ttujur village of Gegharkunik province (Armenia), was taken captive by Azerbaijani authorities in 2010 September.

“The Court thus found that Mr Saribekyan had been subjected to ill-treatment in the form of severe physical violence during the final days of his life while being detained in the Military Police Department in Baku. The Court found that the suffering he had endured had amounted to torture and that he had suffered a violation of his rights under Article 3”, ECHR said in thejudgment.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan