Lemkin Institute condemns Vagif Khachatryan’s prison sentence

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention has issued a
statement, condemning the 15-year prison sentence imposed on Vagif
Khachatryan. 

“The Lemkin Institute exhorts the international community to
persuade the regime of President Aliyev into promptly releasing all Armenian
persons under its jurisdiction and to refrain from providing any kind of
assistance that could worsen the suffering of the victims of the Artsakh
genocide or embolden Azerbaijan to perpetrate any unlawful act of aggression,”
reads the statement. 

To remind, Vagif Khachatryan was abducted from the
checkpoint over the Hakari bridge from the ICRC vehicle on his way to Yerevan
from Artsakh. He was coming to Armenia to undergo medical treatment.

Later, Azerbaijan brought serious charges against
Khachatryan. Although, Khachatryan did not plead guilty, he was convicted on
trumped-up charges of “committing genocide” and forming “armed groups”.