The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has found Azerbaijan responsible for the torture and killing of Armenian officer H.T. (Ed. note: Hayk Vahani Toroyan, a Major in the Artsakh Defence Army and Chief of the Rocket and Artillery Armament Service of Military Unit N in Mataghis) during the April 2016 war, concluding that Azerbaijani soldiers mutilated and beheaded him after he had been wounded and could no longer defend himself.
The ruling is likely to be cited in future legal and human rights discussions concerning Azerbaijan’s treatment of Armenians in Artsakh, including the 2020 Artsakh War, the 2022-2023 blockade of Artsakh, and the September 2023 forced displacement of Artsakh’s Armenian population.
H.T., a Major in the Artsakh Defence Army, was wounded when Azerbaijani forces attacked his vehicle near Talish on April 2, 2016. He survived the initial attack but was unable to move independently. The Court found that his hands were severed while he was still alive and that he was then killed by decapitation. The Court also rejected Azerbaijan’s argument that the incident fell outside its jurisdiction.
The Court also found a violation of Article 3 with respect to H.T.‘s parents and sister, citing the mutilation of his body, the circulation of images of his severed head, and the family’s inability to recover all of his remains for burial.
The ECHR awarded €60,000 to H.T.’s parents jointly, €30,000 to his sister, and €14,210 in legal costs and expenses.
