Human rights activist: At least 7 women tortured and abused by  Azerbaijan during the aggression against Armenia and Artsakh

ArmInfo.  At a press conference on November 14 discussing "The Impact of Azerbaijani Aggression on  Human Rights and Environmental Protection", Anna Melikyan, a legal  expert from the "Protection of Rights Without Borders" NGO,  stated  that  at least 7 Armenian women were victims of violence, including  torture and beheadings, before being killed during the Azerbaijani  aggression against Artsakh,based on available data.  

"Many were captured alive by the Azerbaijani military and tortured to  death. Not much was initially said about this, but in 2022, in  connection with the well-known incidents involving female soldiers  (in Jermuk, the Azerbaijanis abused Armenian female soldiers - ed.),  discussions started emerging about how not only men, but also women,  were becoming victims of the brutal crimes of war," the expert  explained. At the same time, according to her, the Azerbaijani  military has significantly simplified the work of human rights  activists by posting many videos on social networks, especially  Telegram, containing evidence of war crimes against both civilians  and prisoners of war. 

As Melikyan explained, the posting of these materials was done with  the aim of intimidating the local population. "People, upon seeing  the fate of their fellow citizens, remained in fear and did not dare  to resist, especially the military, knowing what awaited them in case  of capture. Of the approximately 80 civilians killed in 2020, half  were victims of deliberate killings, most of whom were elderly people  with disabilities, including people with mental disorders," the  expert added.

She mentioned that not all cases were documented, but beheadings of  elderly people and other forms of torture did occur. The human rights  expert noted that children were among the victims who died due to  indiscriminate attacks, as the Azerbaijani military not only targeted  military sites.  In addition, Melikyan said that in conversations  with military personnel who had returned from Azerbaijani captivity,  they learned about the torture and ill-treatment they had witnessed.  At the same time, there were numerous cases of desecration of the  bodies of the deceased, as well as instances of prisoners being  beheaded on camera. "Such incidents were documented both in 2016 and  after 2020. The primary reason for their persistence was these  actions went unpunished," she explained.

 "I must note that the international community and human rights  organizations showed a weak reaction to these events. Only the murder  in Hadrut (the beheading of two children - ed.),  received  attention  and condemnation. The rest of the incidents went unnoticed. This was  due to the international community, viewing Artsakh as part of  Azerbaijan, and therefore not feeling the need to address or condemn  these issues actively," the expert concluded.