On 15 July 2018, the Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan stated that they had prevented penetration by Armenian armed forces, described by the Azerbaijani media as a group of saboteurs, and that one of the members of the group had been taken captive.
Immediately after this statement, the Ministry of Defence of Armenia announced that this person is actually Mr. Karen Ghazaryan, a resident of Berdavan village, Tavush Province, born in 1984, who has mental health problems, does not serve and has never served in the armed forces of Armenia.
On the following day of the incident, Karen Ghazaryan’s parents and other close relatives applied to the Human Rights Defender of Armenia.
On 17 July 2018, based on the information received by those applications, the authorized representative of Human Rights Defender's Office, with direct instruction of the Human Rights Defender, visited Berdavan village of Tavush Province and met Karen Ghazaryan's parents.
A private interview took place during which the parents claimed that Mr. Ghazaryan had never been a military person. They provided respective documents, including documents related to his mental health problems and his medical treatment at a psychiatric hospital.
According to the parents, their house is the closest one to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. On the day of the incident, there was heavy rain and thunderstorm, the electricity was cut off, which was the reason of their son’s getting lost approximately at 02:30 a.m. The parents also mentioned that they are waiting impatiently for the return of their son.
Documents about Karen Ghazaryan’s mental health issues were also provided to the Human Rights Defender by his close relatives. The head of Berdavan community as well asserted to the Defender’s representative that Karen Ghazaryan has mental health issues and had never been a military.
During recent days, Karen Ghazaryan’s parents applied to the Human Rights Defender several times, raising their concern about still being unaware of the whereabouts of their son. The parents also raised concern about Karen Ghazaryan’s life, health and his physical security. They asked the Defender’s assistance in receiving information about their son.
Taking into consideration that there are applications from Karen Ghazaryan’s parents addressed to the Human Rights Defender, as well as that Karen Ghazaryan is a resident of Berdavan village of Tavush Province and is an Armenian citizen, examination proceedings have been initiated at the Defender’s Office.
The Human Rights Defender took into consideration the statement by the Ministry of Defence of Armenia, according to which the Yerevan Office of International Committee of the Red Cross was immediately notified about Karen Ghazaryan’s health problems and about the possibility of organizing his return.
On the other hand, the Defender recorded publicly available information that the Azerbaijani authorities consistently hinder ICRC representatives’ visits to Karen Ghazaryan during his captivity.
The Human Rights Defender is concerned about this situation, especially when Karen Ghazaryan’s parents and other relatives are continuously alarmed about his physical security and the possibility of being subjected to violence in Azerbaijan.
This situation is impermissible also in the sense that the ICRC, despite its international humanitarian mandate, has not been able to pay a visit to Karen Ghazaryan, as a result of which Karen Ghazaryan’s family does not have any possibility of receiving information about him. This situation persists for already 14 days, whereas international standards provide that the family has the right to receive information in the shortest time possible but at the latest not more than one week period. Moreover, Karen Ghazaryan’s family should also be informed about his whereabouts within that same time-period.
The Human Rights Defender of Armenia brings this question to the attention of international organizations and international human rights defence institutions and requests for their support in obtaining information about the physical security and the whereabouts of Mr. Karen Ghazaryan, an Armenian citizen, a resident of a borderline village of Armenia, a person with mental health problems.