Monday, April 8 2019 17:02

ArmInfo. The presentation of Karen  Ghazaryan as a saboteur and depriving him of his freedom for 20 years is another cynicism of Azerbaijan. This was announced at the spring  session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe by the  head of the standing parliamentary committee on human rights and  public affairs, MP from the Prosperous Armenia Party Naira Zohrabyan.

Speaking from the PACE rostrum, Zohrabyan touched upon the issue of  Armenian citizen Karen Ghazaryan, who was sentenced to 20 years of  imprisonment by an Azerbaijani court, after being captured in  Azerbaijan last July.

She stated that what happened with Karen Ghazaryan is a cynical  challenge to the entire civilized world and is due solely to the fact  that Karen Ghazaryan is Armenian.

In her word, Zohrabyan urged international human rights organizations  to immediately take the necessary measures to protect the rights and  security of Karen Ghazaryan, reiterating that what Azerbaijani  propaganda represents is a blatant lie.

To recall, on July 15, a resident of the Tavush village of Berdavan,  Karen Ghazaryan, entered the territory of Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani  side declared "preventing attempts of sabotage penetration", as well  as the capture of a soldier Karen Ghazaryan (born in 1984). Karen  Ghazaryan was charged with attempting to commit a terrorist act on  the territory of Azerbaijan. The court of Azerbaijan sentenced  Ghazaryan to 20 years in prison.

<Karen Ghazaryan did not serve in the army and could not serve  because he had health problems, including mental ones. Representing a  young man captured as a member of a sabotage and intelligence group  is another cynicism of Azerbaijan. One thing is clear that the  sentence imposed on Karen Ghazaryan is solely due to the fact that  Karen is Armenian. What the CE member Azerbaijan continues to do is a  shameful violation of numerous international conventions and  humanitarian obligations.

I consider the incident to be a brazen challenge to the civilized  world, international human rights structures, our Assembly, the UN  Commission on Human Rights, the Red Cross and call on all these  structures and the CE Commissioner for Human Rights to immediately  take all the necessary steps to protect the rights and safety of  Karen Kazaryan, "Zohrabyan urged, recalling how in <democratic>  Azerbaijan  prisoners are treated.

Meanwhile, the decision of the Artsakh authorities to release the  Azerbaijani serviceman, who has served his proportionate punishment,  once again demonstrates the Armenian side's commitment to  international humanitarian law and the rule of law, which the  Azerbaijani parliamentarians do not care for.

"Armenia will make all possible efforts to protect the rights of a  citizen of Armenia, and as a lawmaker and citizen, I expect the same  from our structure and other human rights organizations," the head of  the standing parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and Public  Affairs concluded.