Your trusted source

Armenian Ombudsman Karen Andreasyan sent a letter to Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muiznieks concerning the Karabakh helicopter shot down by the Azerbaijani armed forces.

Karen Andreasyan expressed deep concern over the fate of the downed helicopter’s crew, according to the press service of the Ombudsman.

“8 days have passed since the incident, but the Azerbaijani side prevents attempts to approach the helicopter and recover the crew members, although Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and the ICRC appealed to Azerbaijan at Armenia’s request. Moreover, the Azerbaijani side did not allow conducting monitoring in the helicopter crash site.

“These actions of Azerbaijan contradict the norms of international humanitarian law and the basic notions of morality and conscience. If we had approached the helicopter in time and helped the downed helicopter’s crew, it would probably have been possible to save at least one of them.

“I urge you not to stand aside and to assist with the crew’s return and a comprehensive, impartial and transparent investigation of the incident,” the letter says.

A MI-24 helicopter of the NKR Air Force was shot down on November 12 in the airspace in the eastern direction of the Karabakh-Azerbaijani border due to a ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani armed forces. The area where the helicopter was shot down was at a very short distance from the Line of Contact. So far, the Armenian side has been unable to approach the downed helicopter because of heavy Azerbaijani fire.