Lawyer criticizes Baku's response to ECHR ruling

PanARMENIAN.Net - Baku’s reaction to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) judgment in the case of “V.T. and Others v. Azerbaijan” was painful and aggressive, with Azerbaijan accusing the court rather than expressing remorse for what happened, according to lawyer Siranush Sahakyan, who represents the applicants in the case.

Following the ECHR ruling, Azerbaijan sent a protest note to the court regarding the decision rendered in favor of the Armenian applicants. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry described the judgment as unfair, biased and contrary to the norms of international law, Panorama.am reported.

“They are not expressing regret for what happened or committing themselves to changing their practices. Instead, they are accusing international institutions of unfairness. They have also advanced the false claim that the European Court reached such a decision based on only a few testimonies. We should clarify that in this case we have an extraordinarily extensive body of evidence: the vehicle that was struck, the body, expert examinations documenting the injuries, additional forensic examinations through which the head of the killed Armenian officer was identified, the perpetrator was identified, and there is an interview in which he confessed to the crime he committed,” Siranush Sahakyan said.

On June 18, the European Court of Human Rights published its judgment in the case “V.T. and Others v. Azerbaijan.” The case concerns the torture and killing of Armenian serviceman H.T., who was incapacitated after being wounded during the April 2016 four-day war and subsequently encountered Azerbaijani armed forces.

According to submissions made by H.T.’s parents and sister, who were the applicants in the case, he was wounded during an attack by Azerbaijani forces and became unable to walk independently. They stated that he was tortured by Azerbaijani servicemen and then killed by beheading. The applicants also argued that the family was unable to recover all parts of his body and conduct a proper burial.