Azerbaijan Violated Manvel Saribekyan’s Right to Life: ECHR

• 01.30.2020, 15:47
•  Region,  World,  Armenia,  NKR

The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Azerbaijan violated two articles of the Convention in respect of Manvel Saribekyan, an Armenian national who was captivated by Azerbaijan in 2010, News.am reports.

The Court has delivered a judgement in case of Saribekyan and Balyan v. Azerbaijan.

The Court held that there has been a violation of Article 2 of the Convention (right to life) in respect of the death of Manvel Saribekyan; a violation of Article 2 of the Convention in respect of the inadequacy of the investigation into the death of Manvel Saribekyan and there has been a violation of Article 3  (prohibits torture, and "inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment") of the Convention in respect of the torture of Manvel Saribekyan.

The Court obliged Azerbaijan to pay 60,000 euros in respect of non-pecuniary damage and 2,200 euros in respects of costs and expenses.

Manvel Saribekyan, resident of Ttu Jur village of Armenia, was taken into Azerbaijan’s captivity in September 2010. Saribekyan was a civilian, a shepherd, while Azerbaijan persistently called him an Armenian "saboteur". Later it was reported he allegedly hang himself on October 5.

The Armenian side claimed he was either killed or forced to commit a suicide. It was proved by the fact that the Azerbaijani side refused to return his body for a month. On November 4, Azerbaijan handed his body to the Armenian side under agreement reached by Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian leaders during their meeting in Astrakhan last October.