On 8 October, Human Rights Defender Artak Beglaryan visited the hospital to find out the health condition of the three foreign journalists injured in the attack on the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi by the Azerbaijani armed forces.

The management of the hospital informed the Defender that three Russian journalists were injured in the incident, one of whom is in extremely critical condition, and the other two are in critical condition. The ombudsman found out that at the time of the attack, the journalists were doing professional work in the church, covering the aftermath of the first blow to the Cathedral.

According to various citizens and journalists present at the scene, during the pre-strike period, a drone was circling over the Cathedral, which then hit it. These facts clearly show that it was visible to the Azerbaijani armed forces that they were attacking the church, that there were journalists with logos inside. Therefore, it is indisputable that Azerbaijan deliberately targeted the journalists and the church. Moreover, within the framework of the fact-finding mission, it turned out that the Azerbaijani armed forces also fired rockets at the area around the Shushi mosque.

Strongly condemning the next deliberate targeting of journalists and the church by Azerbaijan, the Human Rights Defender of Artsakh describes them as war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Human Rights Defender urges international human rights organizations to make an appropriate assessment of the case and take measures to punish the perpetrators.