“Condemnable and inadmissible” – Armenia Human Rights Defender decries Azeri kidnappings in Lachin Corridor

YEREVAN, AUGUST 28, ARMENPRESS. After receiving information about the abduction by Azerbaijan of a 22-year-old student who was being transported to Armenia accompanied by the Russian Peacekeepers from the illegal checkpoint on the Lachin Corridor, the Human Rights Defender’s Office initiated a study of the case, the Armenian Human Rights Defender’s Office said in a statement.

Furthermore, the Human Rights Defender immediately contacted colleagues from the competent bodies.

The issues related to other similar incidents that took place on the checkpoint were also discussed. The results will be analyzed and summarized, and letters will be addressed to authoritative international organizations with a mandate to protect human rights. The abduction by Azerbaijan of persons being transferred to Armenia through the mediation of international actors, including the Russian Peacekeepers, is condemnable and inadmissible.

The Human Rights Defender of Armenia emphasizes once more that this situation underscores gross violations of human rights by the Azerbaijani authorities, taking into consideration that international legal guarantees and standards universally recognized in the modern civilized world regarding interference with fundamental human rights are not observed.