Ombudsman's office answers straightforward question from Caliber.Az In the wake of hard-hitting topic

"The servicemen of the Armenian armed forces continue to grossly violate the norms of international law and international humanitarian law, including the 1949 Geneva Convention for the Protection of War Victims, have committed and continue to commit war crimes, torture, and inhuman treatment against Azerbaijani civilians, servicemen, wounded, as well as the bodies of the dead," Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of Azerbaijan Sabina Aliyeva said in a statement.

According to Caliber.Az, the statement notes that the videos that have spread in recent days in social networks depicting the inhuman mockery of Armenian servicemen over the corpses of dead Azerbaijani soldiers are another proof of this.

"There are numerous facts confirmed, including video evidence, that during the first Karabakh and Patriotic Wars, Armenian servicemen killed Azerbaijani prisoners with point-blank shots in the heart or head, dismemberment of the bodies of servicemen, torture and insults, inhuman treatment, looting. The Ombudsman regularly informs international organizations of relevant information about this in the form of appeals, statements, and reports.

Armenia, laying groundless territorial claims against Azerbaijan and simultaneously pursuing a policy of racial, ethnic, and religious discrimination instead of suppressing war crimes against our country and bringing the perpetrators to justice for previous crimes, is obstructing security and the peacemaking process in the region by carrying out provocations, leading to a conflict between our peoples," Sabina Aliyeva said in her statement.

The Ombudsman regrets that, unlike Azerbaijan, the Armenian side does not conduct any investigations of such facts, thereby failing to fulfill its international obligations.

"We again bring these facts to the attention of the UN, European Union, Council of Europe and their structures, and other competent international and regional organizations and call for urgent legal action to bring to justice those responsible for crimes against peace and humanity committed by Armenia against Azerbaijan," Aliyeva said.

The Ombudsman's Office also replied to a question asked by Caliber.Az in the social networks whether the Ombudsman's Office is working on Sunday.

The office informed Caliber.Az that both during the Patriotic War and the post-war period the work is carried out round the clock.

"During the Patriotic War, the Ombudsman collected facts on video footage of war crimes against Azerbaijani servicemen, this issue was raised before international bodies, and the process continues. Such topics are continuously monitored by the Ombudsman.

In the post-war period, in July 2021, the Ombudsman prepared a separate report on cases of torture against Azerbaijani servicemen, which was sent to international bodies.

We consider it important to support the coverage of this work by Caliber.Az and other media, as it is carried out in the interests of Azerbaijan. However, we would like to note that the Ombudsman's Office is not an investigative body and does not have the mandate to answer certain questions.

We would like to note that at the moment the necessary measures are being taken in connection with the disseminated videos of human rights violations within the powers and mandate of the Ombudsman, information about them will be presented to the public," the statement by the Ombudsman's office said calling to always contact the Ombudsman's office for clarification of information, including via social networks and the official website of the Ombudsman.

It should be recalled that a number of social media pages have published video footage claiming that Azerbaijani servicemen shot at detained Armenian saboteurs.

The General Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan earlier informed us that the Military Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan is conducting a full and comprehensive investigation into the authenticity of such videos, as well as the time and place of shooting, the identity of the servicemen, and all other circumstances relevant to establishing the truth. Based on the results of the investigation, measures will be taken in accordance with the law.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry in turn stated that it strongly condemns such attempts by Armenia to mislead the international community.

"The Armenian Government has so far not taken any practical measures to prevent the war crimes committed or to bring the persons concerned to justice for the crimes committed.

We strongly condemn Armenia's attempts to mislead the international community and conceal its responsibility by spreading unsubstantiated allegations.

We demand that Armenia fulfill its international obligations and bring to justice those responsible for numerous war crimes," the commentary of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reads.

Caliber.Az, in turn, presented a video clearly showing Armenian servicemen mocking the bodies of Azerbaijanis. Unlike the first video actively circulated by the Armenian side, it clearly shows the faces of Armenians mocking the bodies of Azerbaijanis.