MD: “Impunity killed him”
Statement by the RA Ministry of Defense
"In reference to the joint statement by the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan and the Military Prosecutor's Office, Azerbaijani presses inform that RA citizen Manvel Saribekyan, who was held captive in Azerbaijan, committed suicide on the night of October 5 at 3 a.m. According to a press release, there were traces similar to those of a person who would hang himself on Saribekyan's neck, but the forensic medicine examination experts didn't find any traces of an assault on his body.
Despite the Armenian side's explanations according to which the young man was a shepherd who was confused and crossed the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, Azerbaijan claimed that Saribekyan was a diversionist who crossed the border on September 11. Later, the Azerbaijani disseminated an online video in which the Armenian youth supposedly said that he had been especially trained to commit terrorist acts in Azerbaijan. However, the scenes clearly show that the young man was tortured.
Without any basis to believe in the truth behind the death of the young Armenian, the RA Ministry of Defense expresses its concern and finds that the country that held Saribekyan captive, that is, Azerbaijan, is fully responsible for Saribekyan's tragic death. We call the attention of international organizations, particularly the International Committee of the Red Cross, to the fact that Azerbaijan is violating the norms of international humanitarian law once again, particularly the provisions stated in the Convention on "Conduct with Military Prisoners". Azerbaijan is ignoring the OSCE Minsk Group's efforts for a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict by taking such provocative steps ahead of the days of the Co-Chairs' Field Assessment Mission.
Azerbaijan has been taking these steps for a long time and has not received the reprehension of competent international structures. It is that sense of impunity that killed our fellow Armenian who was not defended by international norms."
