Among the persons on the lists, two more people did not cross the checkpoint, it is not possible to contact them. HRD of Artsakh

On August 28, the regular transfer of civilians from Artsakh to Armenia was carried out, accompanied by Russian peacekeeping troops. According to preliminary information, 170 people were transported under the escort of peacekeeping troops. Artsakh HRD Gegham Stepanyan wrote about this on his Facebook page.

"At around 1:00 p.m., the persons moving to Armenia reached the Azerbaijani illegal checkpoint located in the Lachin Corridor, near the Hakar Bridge.

According to the information obtained by the human rights defender's office, Alen Nelson Sargsyan, born in 2001, was abducted and taken to an unknown direction by the representatives of the Azerbaijani border guard and other services using force and coercion.

Apart from that, representatives of the Azerbaijani border guard and other services took five more people from Artsakh to RA to a special room near the checkpoint for questioning. During the interrogation, various questions were asked: the occupation in sports, the purpose of going to Armenia, the economic situation in Armenia and Artsakh, etc.

According to the obtained information, two more people from the previously agreed lists, Vahe Hovsepyan and Levon Grigoryan, did not cross the illegal checkpoint, but it is not possible to contact them.

All three citizens are students of educational institutions of the Republic of Armenia.

We have repeatedly noted that the illegal checkpoint located near the Hakari bridge is a direct and undeniable threat to the physical existence and protection of fundamental rights of the civil population of Artsakh.

The abduction of Vagif Khachatryan and Alen Sargsyan irrefutably prove that the so-called checkpoint has turned into a tool to serve Azerbaijani criminal arbitrariness, by which Azerbaijanis arbitrarily abduct civilians and deprive them of their freedom. 120,000 people are kept under siege, deprived of humanitarian access and the opportunity to protect basic human rights.

The international legal and political guarantees of both the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Russian peacekeepers are actually insufficient to protect the rights of the people of Artsakh, including ensuring free and safe movement.

Taking into account the obligations assumed by those two actors, the Human Rights Defender requires them to take all possible measures to ensure the safety of the humanitarian movement of the people of Artsakh and the immediate return of the abducted persons. Without such guarantees, the transportation of civilians should be stopped.

The HRD staff continues to collect facts regarding the case, about which we will issue an additional statement, the collected facts will be summarized and presented to international organizations with a mandate to protect human rights and other international actors," he noted.