Lena Badeyan
Public Radio of Armenia
Armenian villager Mamikon Khojoyan became a “saboteur” and “spy” at the age of 77. This is how the Azerbaijani propaganda presented the captured Armenian to the world.
Mamikon Khojoyan is now in Armenia, he was repatriated on March 4 under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The Against Legal Arbitrariness NGO is preparing to apply to the International Court of Human Rights regarding the issue, Chairwoman of the NGO, first Human Rights Defender Larisa Alaverdyan told reporters today. This time there are all facts to prove the Azeri crimes, she said.
The application against Azerbaijan to be filed to ECHR will be ready in a week. “We have all facts and grounds to succeed,” Larisa Alaverdyan said. She referred to all provisions of the UN Charter and the Geneva Convention Azerbaijan has violated by capturing 77-year-old Mamikon Khojoyan.
Larisa Alaverdyan attached importance to the fact that the version of the Azerbaijani propaganda machine was condemned even inside the country. She has her opinion on why Azerbaijan decided to return the Armenian captive. “They feared the old man could die there, and this would be a greater crime.”
Larisa Alaverdyan is not optimistic about the perspectives of repatriation of another Armenian captive – serviceman Hakob Injighulyan. She is assured Injighulyan will not return; therefore, measures should be taken to send him to a third country.
