Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: Europe’s chief human rights watchdog to probe alleged war crime video
Footage shows two men with hands behind back being shot
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Europe’s chief human rights watchdog has said it will investigate allegations of a potential war crime committed during the brutal Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces.
A video circulating on a messaging app showed what appeared to be two Armenians dressed in military uniform being captured by Azerbaijani troops.
A second showed two men of similar appearance being shot while they sat on a wall with their hands behind their back.
It is not clear when the incident occurred, but open-source intelligence experts at Bellingcat reported the videos were likely recorded between 9 and 15 October on the edge of a town called Hadrut.
The Council of Europe (CoE), guardian of the European Convention on Human Rights, told the BBC it had received the footage and would investigate all alleged human rights abuses in the conflict.
A spokesperson for Dunja Mijatovic, the council’s commissioner for human rights, said: “She will look into all allegations of grave human rights violations and take actions when she deems appropriate.”
The Independent has contacted the CoE for comment.
Armenian authorities identified the alleged victims as 73-year-old Benik Hakobyan and Yuri Adamyan, 25, but Azerbaijan claimed the footage was faked.
“We declare that these videos staged by the Armenians themselves to attract the attention of the international community are provocative,” Azerbaijan’s defence ministry told the Azeri Press Agency. “These videos have nothing to do with the combat actions of the Azerbaijan servicemen.”
On Saturday, Azerbaijan reported fresh fighting in and around Nagarno-Karabakh, officially a part of Azerbaijan but long controlled by ethnic Armenians.
The clashes came a day after the US led talks in Washington DC to try to end the deadliest fighting in the mountain enclave in more than 25 years.
Local officials accused Azerbaijan's forces of shelling buildings in Stepanakert, the largest city in the region, which Baku denied.
The collapse of two Russia-brokered ceasefires had already dimmed the prospect of a quick end to the fighting, which broke out on 27 September.
Additional reporting by Reuters
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments