Three students abducted from illegal checkpoint in Lachin corridor returned to Armenian side

On September 7, at around 17:45, the Azerbaijani side returned the three students abducted from from the illegal checkpoint in Lachin corridor on August 28, Artsakh’s Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan informs.

The transfer of Alen Sargsyan, Vahe Hovsepyan and Levon Grigoryan to the Armenian side took place near the Hakari bridge with the participation of Russian peacekeepers. They were transported to the Republic of Armenia.

The Human Rights Defender’s Office of Artsakh will study the details of the abduction of the three men, their treatment and health conditions during arbitrary and illegal imprisonment by Azerbaijan.

“The abduction and arbitrary imprisonment of civilians, particularly Vagif Khachatryan, Rashid Beglaryan, Alen Sargsyan, Vahe Hovsepyan and Levon Grigoryan, and the initiation of false and fabricated criminal cases by Azerbaijan unequivocally prove that the illegal Azerbaijani checkpoint located near the Hakari bridge is a direct and undeniable threat to Artsakh civil society. for the protection of the physical existence and fundamental rights of the population,” Stepanyan says.

According to him, the so-called checkpoint has turned into a tool to serve Azerbaijani criminal arbitrariness, by which Azerbaijanis arbitrarily abduct civilians and deprive them of their freedom, keeping 120,000 people under siege, deprived of humanitarian access and the opportunity to protect basic human rights.