Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan has presented evidence of Azerbaijani torture of Armenian captives to His Holiness Pope Francis.
The Ombudsman was introduced to the Pope by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. Tatoyan thanked the Pope for his calls to stop the war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh, and the call to release the Armenian captives held in Azerbaijan.
The Human Rights Defender then noted that some of the Armenian captives are still being illegally held in Azerbaijan and spoke about the violations of the rights of the border residents of Armenia by Azerbaijan.
He handed over reports proving the atrocities to the Pontiff. The Pope said he had discussed the issue with His Holiness Karekin II and expressed gratitude for the important reports. Pope Francis instructed his assistant to study them separately and present to him.
The first of the reports presented the “Trophy Park” – an open-air museum of human suffering, based on anti-Armenian sentiment. The report proves that the park encourages more hatred.
The second report provided solid evidence on Azerbaijan’s responsibility for torturing Armenian captives, and the third was about the ban on using the captives’ testimonies received through torture and inhuman treatment. as the basis for a criminal case.
