A resident of the Machkalashen village in the Martuni region of Artsakh, captured on July 26, was handed over to the Armenian side yesterday through the mediation of Russian peacekeepers.
The results of the preliminary medical examination showed that he had been severely beaten by soldiers of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. As a result of inhumane treatment, a resident of an Armenian village was injured in his right leg. His clothes were torn. Now he is at his home in his village.
Artsakh Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan states that the Azerbaijani side continues its aggressive police and does not miss a chance to torture and humiliate those citizens of Artsakh who find themselves in the territories controlled by Azerbaijan.
The Ombudsman of Artsakh draws the attention of international structures and law enforcement agencies of Artsakh to this incident.
It should be noted that a resident of Machkalashen, born in 1989, appeared in the territory controlled by Azerbaijan by chance – during the search for his missing animals. After the Second Artsakh War, similar incidents occurred on the border with Armenia too.
Why is this happening and what does it mean?
This is “contributed” by the line of contact, which, as a result of the aggressive policy of Azerbaijan, passes through the administrative territories of Armenian settlements. In many cases the line of contact passes through the territories of the villages, necessary for the villagers to solve their daily tasks and meet their vital needs, have come under the control of Azerbaijan or become a neutral territory unsuitable for use.
It also poses a threat to the lives of the inhabitants of the Armenian border villages, both on the territory of Artsakh and Armenia. In May, 2021, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces occupied part of the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia too.
The aggressive policy of Azerbaijan once again proves that if there is a theoretical possibility of Armenian residents to be in the territories controlled by Azerbaijan, their lives will be in serious danger.
A resident of the Armenian village of Machkalashen in Artsakh, captured on July 26, 2021, and tortured by Azerbaijani soldiers