ECtHR starts considering Arthur Badalyan's case

Today, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has sent questions to the Azerbaijani authorities on the case of Arthur Badalyan, an Armenian citizen. His complaint relates to the fact of his capture and "inhuman treatment and torture."

The Armenian government acts within the framework of the case as a third party, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told at the Ministry of Justice. Artur Badalyan's interests are represented by Edmon Marukyan, an independent Armenian MP and a member of the Board of the Centre for Strategic Litigations.

According to his data, on May 9, 2009, Arthur Badalyan lost his way in the woods near the village of Navur, Berd District, and got in Azerbaijani captivity.

Badalyan was held captive for 22 months; then, only on March 17, 2011, the Armenian party managed to exchange him for an Azerbaijani prisoner.

"In captivity, he was most cruelly tortured. After beatings, Arthur couldn't walk for a long time; his legs were in disorder; they tortured him with electric current; he wasn’t allowed to eat, wasn't let to the toilet and so on," Marukyan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, adding that as a result of this torture, now Badalyan has to periodically go to the hospital for treatment.

According to Marukyan, Articles 3 and 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) were violated in relation to Badalyan.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.