Armenian Ombudsperson calls for international expert group to probe Azeri allegations of mass grave

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Kristinne Grigoryan says she’s asked EU Special Representative Toivo Klaar to provide the videos which he had said could show alleged torture of Azeri captives by Armenian troops.

On October 2, following the release of the video showing the killings of Armenian PoWs by Azeri troops, Klaar had tweeted: “Another horrible video has emerged of Armenian prisoners of war apparently being executed. If this video is proven to be authentic then this is a war crime that needs to be investigated and the perpetrators punished."The authenticity of the footage was verified by the Human Rights Defender and the Ministry of Defense.

Afterwards, Klaar said that he has received another video “apparently showing war crimes committed against Azerbaijanis.”

Armenia’s Ambassador at-large Edmon Marukyan reacted to the video released by Azerbaijan, saying it is fake.

“I expressed my commitment to follow these reports and notify the Armenian law enforcement agencies about them. Klaar responded by saying that he would send me the video, but so far he hasn’t done so,” Grigoryan said at a press conference.

Grigoryan also commented on the alleged mass grave found by Azerbaijan in territories that have gone under their control.

“I find the objective investigation of all possible crimes to be important, however, the video circulating on social media is contentious. It is my conviction that an independent international expert group should deal with this matter,” Grigoryan said, emphasizing that the video isn’t credible.