Azerbaijan sends 700 appeals on April battles to ECHR
By Rashid Shirinov
Azerbaijan has sent 700 appeals to the European Court of Human Rights in connection with damage caused by the Armenians during the April events of 2016.
Chingiz Asgarov, Head of Human Rights Defense Sector of the Department of the Presidential Administration for Work with Law Enforcement Agencies and permanent representative of Azerbaijan to the ECHR, announced about this in Baku on February 10.
Asgarov noted that these cases are already being considered.
Long-simmering tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan flared again on April 2 when the Armenian side began to shell the Azerbaijani positions and settlements along the frontline. This resulted in the killing of two civilians and injuring of 10 another, including a 13-year-old child. More than 10 houses as well as local people`s property were also damaged.
To protect civilian population, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces launched counter attacks and repulsed the enemy forces back. On April 5, the two sides agreed on a ceasefire.
Later it was established that the dead bodies of Azerbaijani soldiers, who became the victims of April battles, were mutilated before they were handed over. Following the battles, Azerbaijan's Military Prosecutor's Office opened a criminal case in connection with the Armenian provocation.
Chingiz Asgarov further added that Armenia has committed and continues to commit crimes in the Nagorno-Karabakh.
“Historical monuments of Azerbaijan are being modified. Armenians use the Nagorno-Karabakh also in the economic sphere, representing the products produced there as their own. It is a crime that must be suppressed,” he said.
Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in conflict, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal, but they have not been enforced to this day.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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