Baku returns body of slain Armenian

By Asbarez | Thursday, 09 October 2014

 

Petrosyan seen on amateur video speaking to Azeri villagers


YEREVAN—The body of Karen Petrosyan, an Armenian civilian killed under Azerbaijani custody, has been returned to Armenia, Azeri news agency APA reports.

 

Petrosyan, who lived in a borderland village in northeastern Armenia, was taken captive on August 7 after mistakenly wandering into the territory of Azerbaijan. Shocking images of him being dragged by masked soldiers were distributed to the media by authorities in Azerbaijan, in which he was being brutally forced to beg for pardon from the president of Azerbaijan.

One day later, Azerbaijan announced that Petrosyan had “suddenly died of heart failure.”

Petrosyan was seen on video speaking to Azeri villagers before his arrest. The villagers later testified that he posed no danger and was not armed.

On Sept. 10, the Armenian side applied to the European Court of Human Rights, requesting intervention. The appeal called for Azerbaijan to immediately return the remains of Petrosyan to his family in a dignified state.

The European Court later asked Azerbaijan to give an explanation of its “official position in connection with the repatriation of Karen Petrosyan’s body.”

Azerbaijan was condemned by several international entities, including the United States and France, for its mistreatment and, ultimately, murder of Karen Petrosyan.


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