Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: Europe’s chief human rights watchdog to probe alleged war crime video

Footage shows two men with hands behind back being shot

Fighting between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces broke out nearly a month ago (Sergei Bobylev/TASS)

Europe’s chief human rights watchdog has said it will investigate allegations of a potential war crime committed during the brutal Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces.

A video circulating on a messaging app showed what appeared to be two Armenians dressed in military uniform being captured by Azerbaijani troops.

A second showed two men of similar appearance being shot while they sat on a wall with their hands behind their back.

It is not clear when the incident occurred, but open-source intelligence experts at Bellingcat reported the videos were likely recorded between 9 and 15 October on the edge of a town called Hadrut.

The Council of Europe (CoE), guardian of the European Convention on Human Rights, told the BBC it had received the footage and would investigate all alleged human rights abuses in the conflict.

A spokesperson for Dunja Mijatovic, the council’s commissioner for human rights, said: “She will look into all allegations of grave human rights violations and take actions when she deems appropriate.”

The Independent has contacted the CoE for comment.

Armenian authorities identified the alleged victims as 73-year-old Benik Hakobyan and Yuri Adamyan, 25, but Azerbaijan claimed the footage was faked.

“We declare that these videos staged by the Armenians themselves to attract the attention of the international community are provocative,” Azerbaijan’s defence ministry told the Azeri Press Agency.  “These videos have nothing to do with the combat actions of the Azerbaijan servicemen.”

On Saturday, Azerbaijan reported fresh fighting in and around Nagarno-Karabakh, officially a part of Azerbaijan but long controlled by ethnic Armenians.

The clashes came a day after the US led talks in Washington DC to try to end the deadliest fighting in the mountain enclave in more than 25 years.

Local officials accused Azerbaijan's forces of shelling buildings in Stepanakert, the largest city in the region, which Baku denied.

The collapse of two Russia-brokered ceasefires had already dimmed the prospect of a quick end to the fighting, which broke out on 27 September.

Additional reporting by Reuters