ECHR upholds verdict against Azerbaijan for torture and murder of a soldier

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has finally dismissed Azerbaijan's appeal, upholding the decision of June 18. As reported by Hetq.am, the court found Baku guilty of torture, beheading, and the unlawful killing of an Armenian serviceman, Major Toroyan (referred to as H.T. in the case materials). The Strasbourg court's decision entered into legal force on November 2.

The verdict holds Azerbaijan legally responsible for gross violations of the right to life, the absolute prohibition of torture, and for causing severe psychological suffering to the victim's family. The incident occurred on April 2, 2016, during the 'Four-Day War' in the area of Talish village, where Azerbaijani military forces attacked a medical truck carrying a severely wounded officer.

Court decision and compensation

ECHR judges found the evidence provided by the victim's family to be completely convincing. The court noted that the Azerbaijani authorities failed to provide valid counterarguments and offered no explanation for the videos published on social media, in which soldiers were seen displaying severed body parts of the Armenian soldier.

The applicants were the parents and sister of the deceased serviceman, whose interests were represented by lawyer Ara Ghazaryan and human rights defenders Haykuhi Harutyunyan, Araks Melkonyan, and Artak Zeynalyan. In accordance with the final verdict, Baku is required to pay the family 90,000 euros in compensation for non-pecuniary damage and 14,210 euros for legal costs within three months.