A 68-year-old citizen of Karabakh was detained by Azerbaijan while being transferred to a hospital in Armenia for treatment with the assistance of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),  Communication and Prevention Program Manager of the ICRC in Armenia informed. 

“Regarding this particular situation, we are addressing all the issues to the relevant authorities, but we will do it through dialogue, and it will be confidential; as of now, I cannot provide any other details regarding the incident,” the Red Cross representative said.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned Azerbaijan’s actions as a blatant violation of international humanitarian law. The detention of a person under the protection of international humanitarian law and the Red Cross can only be characterized as a war crime, stated the Armenian Foreign Ministry.

Hours later, Baku authorities reported that Vagif Khachaturyan was arrested and transferred to Baku. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan, Khachaturyan had been charged as far back as 2013, and an international search for him had been announced in the same year. The Azerbaijani APA agency stated, based on the official statement from the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan, that Khachaturyan is facing criminal charges related to alleged acts of genocide, deportation of Azerbaijanis, destruction, and damage of state-owned property, and carrying out an armed attack on a village resulting in the death of 25 Azerbaijanis on December 22, 1991, in the village of Meshali, Khojaly region. He is set to be transferred to Baku to face these accusations.

According to Artak Beglaryan, an adviser to the de-facto Karabakh president, Azerbaijan’s accusations against Vagif Khachatryan are unfounded. He stated that there was no such crime in the village of Meshali, and the citizen who was abducted and transferred to Baku by Azerbaijani forces was born in 1955 in Karabakh and resided in the village of Patara. Beglaryan emphasized that, like many other men, Khachatryan also defended his homeland during the 1991-94 war, but the accusation made by Azerbaijan is false and lacks any basis.

The incident sparked outrage in Armenia and Karabakh. Some experts and politicians in Armenia strongly criticized the government for promoting an “imaginary peace agenda” that they believe is not feasible given the current conditions. In Stepanakert/Khankendi, citizens gathered in front of the Red Cross Committee office to voice their grievances and concerns over the arrest of Khachaturyan.

Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani media published interviews with various citizens of the country who suffered in Meshali village during the First Karabakh War, who recognized Vagif Khachatryan and accused him of torture and war crimes.

Armenian publication "Hraparak" reported that Vagif Khachaturyan worked as a driver for the former de facto Karabakh Defense Minister Samvel Babayan in the late 90s.

To date, there has been no reaction from the international community to the incident.