Since August of this year, the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Staff of the Republic of Artsakh alerted about the damping of telecommunication, in particular, mobile communication and the Internet by Azerbaijan throughout the territory of the Artsakh Republic.
As a result of discussions with the competent bodies of the Republic of Artsakh and the companies providing relevant services, the issue was also presented to the leadership of the Russian peacekeeping troops in Artsakh after which the issue of damping seemed to have been settled.
However, since November 9, 2021, after the visit of the president of Azerbaijan to the occupied city of Shushi of the Republic of Artsakh, this problem has arisen again; for almost a month now the means of communication of Artsakh have been operating with serious disruptions.
The problem is more acute in the communities that appeared in the vicinity of the line of contact due to the Azeri-Turkish aggression and occupation of the territory of Artsakh in 2020. In some communities, there is no connection at all.
There is no doubt that access to mobile communication and the Internet in the territory of Artsakh is deliberately muffled by the way Azeris influence the frequencies and technical means used by the companies providing services in the field of telecommunication.
Azerbaijan uses any method to violate the human rights of the people of Artsakh and cause inconvenience. In this particular case, the actions of the Azerbaijani side create obstacles to the right of the people of Artsakh to freedom of use of telecommunication and other means to be informed.
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I draw the attention of the relevant bodies and Russian peacekeeping troops to this issue which is important not only for human rights protection but has a clear humanitarian nature.
The Human Rights Defender of Artsakh Gegham Stepanyan
