ECHR orders Azerbaijan to pay €104,000 over tortured Armenian soldier

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ordered Azerbaijan to pay more than €104,000 (£88,000) to the family of an Armenian soldier tortured and killed in 2016.

In a ruling published on Thursday, the Strasbourg-based court found that Azerbaijani soldiers had captured, tortured, and decapitated Major H.T. during the brief but intense four-day war over Nagorno-Karabakh in April 2016.

The family of the 30-year-old major, who served in the armed forces of the unrecognised "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic", alleged that he was ambushed in his military vehicle near the village of Talish, close to the line of contact.

A forensic report submitted by Armenian authorities concluded that the soldier's hands and head were severed while he was still alive.

The ECHR ruled that Azerbaijan had violated the right to life and the prohibition of torture under the European Convention on Human Rights.

It also found a separate violation regarding the "moral suffering" of the family, who were unable to recover all of his remains for a proper burial.

The Azerbaijani government had denied the claims, arguing that the area where the incident occurred was under Armenian occupation at the time and outside of its control.

It told the court that this lack of control made it impossible for Azerbaijani authorities to conduct an investigation.

However, the court rejected this argument, ruling that the injured soldier was brought under the physical control and "immediate proximity" of Azerbaijani forces, establishing the state's jurisdiction.

Because Azerbaijan failed to provide any "convincing counter-arguments", the court concluded that the applicants' account was substantially accurate.

Under the ruling, Azerbaijan must pay €60,000 (£51,000) to the soldier's parents, €30,000 (£25,500) to his sister, and €14,210 (£12,000) to cover legal costs.

The government has three months from the date the judgment becomes final to pay the compensation.

The April 2016 hostilities, often called the "Four-Day War", was the heaviest escalation in the region since the 1994 ceasefire, resulting in at least 100 deaths on both sides before a truce was agreed.