Artsakh Ombudsman Presents Facts to Expose Azerbaijani Lies

STEPANAKERT — Artsakh’s Human Rights Defender, Gegham Stepanyan, has presented facts proving the falseness of Azerbaijan’s claims regarding the presence of servicemen from the Republic of Armenia in Artsakh.

The Azerbaijani propaganda machine is exploiting the request made by the parents to transport the bodies of Samvel Torosyan and Yervand Tadevosyan, two out of the four soldiers who lost their lives due to Azerbaijan’s aggression against Artsakh on the night of June 27-28, 2023. The bodies were requested to be transported to Armenia and buried in Yerablur. These circumstances, along with their transportation by the ICRC, are being used by Azerbaijan to falsely assert that the armed forces of the Republic of Armenia are deployed in Artsakh.

According to the Ombudsman, Azerbaijan’s aim with this claim is to create a foundation for launching new attacks against Artsakh. This intention is already being discussed in the Azerbaijani media.

With the consent of the fallen servicemen’s families, the Ombudsman has published evidence to demonstrate that Azerbaijan’s claims are unfounded and have no basis in reality.

Samvel Tigran Torosyan was born in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, on December 16, 2003 (Picture 1: Samvel Torosyan’s birth certificate). He attended Stepanakert No. 7 primary school and pursued further education in the secondary vocational program (college) at Shushi Technological University, specializing in urban cadastre (Picture 2: Samvel Torosyan’s diploma).

Samvel was pursuing higher education at the Faculty of Economics and Law of Mesrop Mashtots University in Stepanakert, majoring in information systems (Picture 3: Samvel Torosyan’s student card). He was a citizen of the Republic of Artsakh, registered in the city of Stepanakert (Picture 4: Samvel Torosyan’s passport). Samvel Torosyan was conscripted into the army from the military commissariat of Stepanakert, and his family and relatives reside permanently in Stepanakert.

Yervand Hovhannes Tadevosyan was born on May 27, 2003, in the city of Berdzor, Kashatagh region of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (Picture 5: Yervand Tadevosyan’s birth certificate). He attended secondary school No. 2, named after V. Zatikyan, in Berdzor, completing his primary education in 2018 (Picture 6: Yervand Tadevosyan’s primary education certificate). Yervand Tadevosyan was a citizen of the Republic of Artsakh and was registered in the city of Berdzor (Picture 7: Yervand Tadevosyan’s passport). He was drafted into the army from the military commissariat of Kashatagh. After the 2020 war, Yervand Tadevosyan’s family, as forcibly displaced individuals, sought refuge in the Ararat province of the Republic of Armenia while maintaining their citizenship of the Republic of Artsakh.

To prevent possible speculations about the presented documents, we would like to remind everyone that the identity documents of all citizens of the Republic of Artsakh are issued by the Republic of Armenia, with the only difference being their registration address. This is a well-known approach used due to the non-recognition of Artsakh, allowing Artsakh residents to travel and exercise their rights in other countries as well. This approach is applied to citizens of almost all unrecognized states in the world, considering the gaps in international law and international relations concerning human rights protection.

The parents of Samvel Torosyan and Yervand Tadevosyan decided to bury their children in the “Yerablur” military memorial-pantheon of the Republic of Armenia, exercising their rights. It is worth noting that this is not a new approach, as in previous years, many servicemen of the Artsakh Republic were also buried in Yerablur, given the national importance of that pantheon.

Regarding the false claims made by Azerbaijan about the military service of citizens (residents) of the Republic of Armenia in the ranks of the Artsakh Defense Army, the continuous fact-finding efforts of the Human Rights Defender prove that since 2021, only citizens and residents of the Republic of Artsakh have been serving in Artsakh. Therefore, we would like to draw the attention of the responsible actors in the international community to the fact that the Azerbaijani side, driven by impunity for the blockade of Artsakh and its military aggressions, is seeking new justifications to carry out further criminal actions against the people of Artsakh.