ECHR rules against Azerbaijan in case of beheaded Armenian serviceman

(Horizon Media / STRASBOURG) — The European Court of Human Rights has ruled against Azerbaijan in the case of H.T. and Others v. Azerbaijan, concerning an Armenian serviceman who was killed, tortured and beheaded during the April 2016 war.

The case was brought by the parents and sister of H.T., a major in the armed forces of Artsakh, whose body was found near Talish after the April 2016 hostilities. According to the applicants and forensic findings, H.T. had been seriously wounded and was no longer able to fight when he came under Azerbaijani control. His hands were severed while he was still alive before he was beheaded.

The Court found that Azerbaijan violated Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, protecting the right to life, as well as Article 3, which prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. It also recognized the severe suffering endured by the serviceman’s family, including their inability to recover all parts of his body and conduct a full burial.

Azerbaijan was ordered to pay €60,000 in non-pecuniary damages jointly to H.T.’s parents, €30,000 to his sister, and €14,210 for legal and other expenses within three months of the judgment becoming final.

Legal expert Anna Melikyan of Rights Protection Without Borders said the ruling came nearly ten years after the April War and confirmed that Azerbaijani forces killed a wounded Armenian serviceman who was already hors de combat. She noted that the case was pursued by human rights lawyers, as Armenia did not file an interstate complaint in connection with these cases.