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The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the Azerbaijani authorities had been responsible for the torture and death of Manvel Saribekyan, an Armenian national who had been locked up in a military police cell in Baku.

The court held unanimously that there had been violations of Article 2 (right to life) and Article 3 (prohibition of torture and ill-treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The court found in particular that applicants Mamikon Saribekyan and Siranush Balyan had made a prima facie case that their son, Manvel Saribekyan, had died as a result of the violent actions of others, notably personnel at the Military Police Department in Baku, where he was being held. It could not accept the Azerbaijani authorities’ version of events that he had hanged himself.

ECHR obliged Azerbaijan to pay the applicants 60,000 euros jointly in respect of non-pecuniary damage and 2,200 euros in respect of costs and expenses.

Manvel Saribekyan, 20, who resided in the Armenian village of Ttujur, inadvertently strayed into Azerbaijani territory due to bad weather conditions on 11 September 2010 and was taken captive by Azerbaijani officials. He died in the Baku military police cell on 5 October.