Within the framework of the fact-finding mission, the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Artsakh Republic received information that on October 1, in the downtown of Martuni, as a result of targeted shelling of civilian population by the Azerbaijani armed forces, 4 civilians were killed and 11 were wounded. There are journalists among wounded, two of them are journalists of the French “La Monde” newspaper, Yaghobzadeh Rafael Charles and Alan Cavall.
The Ombudsman visited the wounded journalists at the hospital, one of them is in critical condition and is currently undergoing emergency surgery.
According to verified information, Azerbaijan deliberately and purposefully targeted civilian objects in the downtown of Martuni town using “Grad” multiple rocket launcher system.
The Human Rights Defender strongly condemns the shelling of civilian settlements and infrastructure, as well as journalists, and calls on the international community to make an appropriate assessment of Azerbaijan’s war crimes.
The Ombudsman appeals to international human rights organizations to organize an urgent visit to Artsakh to carry out a fact-finding mission and prevent the real threat to the life and health of the people of Artsakh. It is enough to avoid from the responsibility to protect the rights of the people of Artsakh through criminal silence or baseless political arguments.
It is highly unacceptable for international organizations to turn a blind eye to such war crimes under the guise of baseless political arguments, especially when human rights under the well-known norms of international law are universal and do not depend on the status of the territory. Human right shall never be compromised.
Artsakh Ombudsman
