A little while ago, I met Vera Khachatryan, the daughter of 68-year-old Vagif Khachatryan, who was kidnapped by Azerbaijan.

During the meeting, we also talked with his other daughter, who was at the Hakari “checkpoint” together with her father. All the facts confirm that the accusations brought against Vagif Khachatryan by Azerbaijan are absolutely false and invented.

First of all, the presence of Azerbaijani people in medical clothes near the Hakari Bridge is completely false. In fact, no medical examination takes place. the persons presenting themselves as medical workers only asked 1-2 formal questions to the 68-year-old citizen who was being referred to Armenia for emergency surgery.

In addition, the entire process at the “checkpoint” is controlled by Azerbaijani armed officers. They instructed the citizen (patient) with serious health problems to approach the so-called “medical staff” of Azerbaijan. After that, they also demanded to transfer the citizen to another place, the so-called headquarters, for an interview.

When representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and Vagif Khachatryan’s daughter, Tsovinar (Inga) Khachatryan, demanded explanations and an interview on the spot and tried to prevent his transfer, Azerbaijani armed officers threatened to use force against the daughter and one of the representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Moreover, when the latter tried to come toward Vagif Khachatryan, about 30 armed Azerbaijani officers began to come forward to them, openly displaying their weapons.

Then, an armed serviceman named Ahmed from Azerbaijan pushed Vagif Khachatryan out and took him to an unknown direction without any explanation. At first, one of the representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross left with them, who after a while returned without Vagif Khachatryan due to the coercion of the Azerbaijani armed officers.

During this entire period, no medical worker accompanied Vagif Khachatryan, none of his medical documents were examined, and no medical assistance was provided. The whole process was controlled exclusively by Azerbaijani armed officers.

As we have already mentioned, the transfer of Vagif Khachatryan to Armenia for the purpose of treatment was agreed upon with the Azerbaijani authorities. In other words, the Azerbaijani side, having been informed in advance, and with the obvious intention of kidnapping him, brought him to them by deception.

Immediately after the incident, we also noted that what happened was a war crime. It is provided for by Article 37 of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949 and relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts (Protocol I, June 8, 1977).

Azerbaijan has committed these criminal acts in absolute violation of international rules, with lies and misrepresentations.