1.0 Introduction
1.1 The Center for Truth and Justice (“CFTJ”) is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles, California. CFTJ has been documenting human rights violations and war crimes against Armenians since the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh. CFTJ set up a fact-finding infrastructure in the region and has been collecting first-hand testimonies from the victims. The evidence-gathering methodology CFTJ uses can be found here:
https://www.cftjustice.org/investigations-methodology/. CFTJ preserves evidence and makes it available for educational purposes, advocacy, and potential legal actions. The CFTJ team is comprised of attorneys and law students in the US, Armenia, and Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as human rights advocates and other professionals. The work CFTJ does is dedicated to amplifying the voices of victims of human rights violations, including discrimination, ethnic cleansing, displacement, war crimes, mass atrocities and genocide. CFTJ educates and trains teams in Armenia and Artsakh on evidence-based interview techniques, comporting with international legal standards and rules of evidence. The mission of CFTJ is to serve as a living memorial to those who perished or suffered from human rights abuses and war crimes. A permanent home for victim testimonies, CFTJ strives to foster education, empathy, justice, and change.
1.2 On August 9, 2022, CFTJ members met with the Secretariate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in-person in Geneva, Switzerland, and discussed the testimonies of the Armenian prisoners of war that CFTJ had collected following the 2020 44-Day War in Nagorno-Karabakh. CFTJ members pointed out the pattern and practice of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment that these POWs were subjected to while in Azerbaijani custody, and the utter lack of punishment and accountability for same. The Secretariate invited CFTJ to submit a report on behalf of these POWs outlining the testimonial evidence showcasing the ill-treatment. CFTJ welcomes this opportunity, and we now submit this report on behalf of four POWs. This report refers to these individuals by the unique case numbers within our database: 21LC-0082, 21LC-0043, AUA0068, and 21LC-0078, except in section 6.0 that provides identifying information and detailed summary of the allegations consistent with the questionnaire utilized by the Special Procedures. CFTJ has obtained renewed consent from these POWs who signed the UNHRC consent forms enclosed hereto. CFTJ has collected a total of thirty eyewitness testimonies from Armenian POWs, and we will provide supplemental submissions on behalf of the remaining POWs in the nearest future. The current submission is set out in line with the questionnaire utilized by the Special Procedures of the
UNHRC.
2.0 Background
2.1 On September 27, 2020, Azerbaijan launched an unprovoked 44-day war against the indigenous Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh is a contested territory predominantly populated by Armenians and claimed by Azerbaijan, with the internationally recognized dispute resulting from the Soviet gerrymandering. During and after the active phase of the 44-Day War, Azerbaijan detained over 200 Armenian soldiers and failed to timely return these prisoners of war back to Armenia, in violation of international law.
2.2 Over the course of the next two years, about 130 such captives have repatriated to Armenia. However, it is estimated that another 119 Armenian POWs still remain in the custody of Azerbaijan. Since Azerbaijan refuses to release a full list of the names of Armenian POWs in its custody, this number is an estimation derived from the eyewitness accounts of returned POWs. The first-hand accounts of the 30 POWs that CFTJ interviewed unequivocally point to the fact that Armenian POWs are subjected to severe prolonged torture and inhuman treatment across the board while in the custody of Azerbaijan. The testimonies further reveal that the Armenian POWs are subjected to torture because of their ethnic origin. Such mistreatment occurs in the plain sight by the members of the Azerbaijani military, penitentiary and legal system, without any fear of punishment. The fate of the POWs who remain in the custody of Azerbaijan is a point of grave concern. As outlined in the Requests for Remedies section below, the POWs subject to this report wish that their individual cases be accepted and examined, with a goal also to raise awareness to the plight of those POWs who continue to suffer in the custody of Azerbaijan. Regarding any past and ongoing torture of Armenian POWs in custody of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan should be asked to prevent, stop, and investigate any such crimes, and also take appropriate remedial actions.
3.0 Legal Framework
3.1 Torture is one of the most unconscionable crimes, and international law unconditionally and universally forbids it, and treats it the same way as slavery, genocide and piracy; torture is banned under any circumstances.[1] Azerbaijan voluntarily became a party to a number of binding agreements, including the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) and the Optional Protocol, as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). These binding agreements unequivocally prohibit the use of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment and mandate adequate remedies to redress harm to victims. Aside and independent from these binding agreements, torture violates peremptory norms of international law and is universally rejected. Similarly, the international humanitarian law through the Geneva Convention provides no exception for justifying torture.
3.2 Further, as a state party to the ICERD, Azerbaijan is bound by an obligation under Article 5(b) to guarantee the right to security and protect persons from racially motivated violence and bodily harm. Any acts of torture that are aggravated by the racial animus towards the victim therefore violate ICERD.
4.0 Case Overview and Specific Patterns in Torturing Armenian POWs
This report is based upon the eye-witnessed testimonies of four repatriated POWS that CFTJ interviewed, identified herein as 21LC-0082, 21LC-0043, AUA0068, and 21LC-0078. Please see detailed information pertaining to the four individuals at the end of this report. CFTJ is willing to provide the videotaped testimonies of these POWs upon request.
The three testimonies gathered by CFTJ – and consistent with 30 other testimonies collected – reflect that the Azerbaijani government systematically inflicted severe pain and suffering, both physical and mental, upon the POWs of Armenian descent, targeting them for their ethnicity and national origin. The evidence shows a pattern of constant beatings of Armenian POWs by the state agents of Azerbaijan, including in the face and head, with batons and sticks, or simply with bare fists and feet. The torture also included electrocution in many cases as well as position torture. The conditions of captivity were so poor that they too amounted to ill-treatment. The acts of the state of Azerbaijan against the Armenian POWs constitute gross violations of the basic principles enshrined in the Geneva Convention as well as the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Witness 21LC-0082 spent 10 months in the Azerbaijani custody, having been captured after the ceasefire agreement in November 2020. He was violently beaten every day while in the hands of Azerbaijani military and prison personnel; he reports that the beatings took place with either batons, bare fists or kicks to his head, face, stomach, back, legs, feet, and hands; at one point witness 21LC-0082 even lost consciousness due to a blow on his head. He was also subjected to mental torture wherein at times he was not fed for days; he wore the same clothes for months without washing; in winter he would constantly shiver from cold, and he once got beaten up for closing the holes through which a cold wind came into the cell. Further, no adequate medical care was provided either. During the beatings, Azeri prison guards would force witness 21LC-0082 to repeat that the president of Nagorno-Karabakh was Ilham Aliyev; witness 21LC-0082 once made the mistake of saying that it was Arayik Harutyunyan (the de facto president), and he was severely beaten for that. Witness 21LC-0082 was also forced to sign documents under the threat of violence, in a language he did not understand. These documents turned out to be false confessions, which were later used in a sham trial against him, whereby he was sentenced to 6 years of prison. No meaningful attorney representation was provided to witness 21LC-0082 during these sham proceedings.
Witness 21LC-0043 spent seven months in Azerbaijani detention being subjected to daily torture. He was captured under the same circumstances as witness 21LC-0082. Similarly, his involuntary confession was used in a sham trial against him. Witness 21LC-0043 reports severe beatings and humiliation throughout his detention. He recalls that he had to say “Karabakh is Azerbaijan” in exchange for food. He further states that his platoon officer was so severely beaten, he could not withstand the additional beatings saved for officers; out of compassion, witness 21LC-0043 took his platoon officer’s place and underwent additional beatings. During his interrogations, witness 21LC-0043 was beaten and even electroshocked, which caused extreme pain. Witness 21LC-0043 developed permanent disability, as a result of the abuse in the Azeribaijani custody, and the injuries sustained preclude him from doing moderate work. Occasionally he runs out of breath and suffers from exertion. Any physical work makes his spine hurt. Once he lost consciousness while being back in Armenia. His mother has been noticing that at times his eyes uncontrollably shake back and forth. He did not have any of these health issues prior to his captivity.
Similarly, witness 21LC-0078 was tortured in the Azeri prison in Baku, being subjected to daily beatings. Notably, he was captured over a year after the 44-Day War, on the Armenian-Azeri border while constructing a road. After detaining him, the Azeri soldiers would routinely make him repeat “Karabakh is Azerbaijan,” which was their way to humiliate Armenians.
Lastly, witness AUA0068 also testifies to severe and constant beatings while in the custody of the Azerbaijani military and also during his 7-month stay at a detention facility in Azerbaijan. He reports position torture (forced kneeling for hours; forced standing the whole day; prohibition of laying down); torture by electroshocking; poor nutrition and lack of access to the items of hygiene; humiliation by being forced to repeat phrases that are degrading Armenians; by being forced to witness other Armenian POWs severely physically abused.
The four soldiers all suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, in addition to the physical disabilities resulting from the torture by the agents of the state of Azerbaijan.
All POWs described in this report testify that the Azeri military, prison employees as well as the actors in the legal and judicial system inflicted both physical and mental torture against them as a means of punishment for simply being Armenian. The POWs all indicate that they had to repeat phrases and words specifically aimed at humiliating Armenians. Torture was also used as a means of intimidation and coercion to produce false confessions to be used during sham trials.
There is no redress for the POWs to seek justice in Azerbaijan; individuals of Armenian descent cannot enter Azerbaijan. Even if they do, they would not be able to safely stay there, let alone seek justice in the judicial system that had previously put them through sham trials based on fabricated charges and forced confessions.
The mistreatment of Armenian POWs was intentional, systematic and a state-sanctioned norm. The acts of torture involved a great number and various types of agents of Azerbaijan, including the military, employees of the Azerbaijani state penitentiary system and in relevant cases Azerbaijani legal and judiciary system. All acts of torture and mistreatment were done in the open without fear of any punishment or reprimand. All interviewed POWs were subjected to the same methods of torture and inhuman treatment without exceptions. The testimonies demonstrate that the agents of the state of Azerbaijan acted with an intent to punish Armenian POWs for being Armenian, intimidate them, and coerce them into confessing of crimes they did not commit.
5.0 Requests for Remedies
The complainants respectfully request that the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, consistent with her mandate:
- examine the presented complaints of torture, relying on the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;
- send an allegation letter to the government of Azerbaijan, specifying concerns about the systematic mistreatment of the specific group of victims – Armenian POWs; systematic use of specific methods of torture as described herewith; a pattern of creating detention conditions amounting to ill-treatment;
- issue a public communication to the state of Azerbaijan regarding the presented evidence of torture;
- report to the Human Rights Council as well as the UN General Assembly of the pattern of gross human rights violations and work crimes under the Convention Against Torture, Optional Protocol to the Convention and Geneva Convention by the state of Azerbaijan against Armenian POWs;
- consider a fact-finding country visit to Azerbaijan;
- engage other mandate holders within the Special Procedures as is deemed appropriate, including the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and Special Rapporteur on Racism. forward the presented information to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture to facilitate any possible assistance to the survivors of torture that are part of this information.
6.0 Summary of witness statements
6.1 The Case of 21LC-0082
Chronological summary of the incidents:
Seventeen days after the conclusion of the 44-Day War on November 10, 2020, witness 21LC0082 returned to military duty in Khtsaberd, Nagorno-Karabakh to replace the servicemen stationed there. On December 13, 2020, he and his platoon mates unintentionally walked into an Azerbaijani military camp. They surrendered their weapons; however, despite the November 2020 ceasefire agreements, the Yashma brigade of the Azerbaijani Special Forces took them into custody. Witness 21LC-0082 was handcuffed and made to walk for 6-7 hours to the town of Hadrut. In the town of Hadrut, additional Azerbaijani soldiers joined the captives and made them carry their luggage (these were Azerbaijan State Security Service). Witness 21LC-0082 and his platoon mates were forced to walk for another 7 hours, upon which time they were loaded into 3 Kamaz trucks and taken to Baku. Witness 21LC-0082 and his platoon mates ended up at a detention center in Baku. This was the first detention facility where witness 21LC-0082 spent 3 days; he was systematically physically and mentally abused there as described in the section below.
After spending 3 days at the first facility, on December 17-18, 2020, Witness 21LC-0082 and the rest of his platoon were distributed in numerous Ford SUVs with blackened windows and transported to another prison facility in Baku. He was detained and tortured in this new prison for 10 months, from December 17-18, 2020 until October 19, 2021 when he was released into the Armenian custody.
After signing various documents under duress during 4 interrogations, witness 21LC-0082 was tried in court for committing acts of terror, intimidating the civilian population of Azerbaijan, carrying explosives, and cutting down forests. witness 21LC-0082 pled not guilty to these charges. There was a total of 4 court hearings. Each time, witness 21LC-0082 would be blindfolded during the transit to the courthouses. During the second hearing, the judge, policemen, and a lawyer were present in the court. witness 21LC-0082 was given an opportunity to tell the judge about himself; he indicated that he was a farmer, he lived in a village, and he was also a student and not married. Based on the written statements signed by the POWs under the threat of violence, the judge sentenced all 13 of Armenian POWs to 6 years in prison, including witness 21LC-0082. The charges of terrorism were dropped. They were all charged with 2 offenses: 1) violating the state border without a document and 2) illegal possession of weapons and ammunition.
During the transit back to prison after the last hearing where witness 21LC-0082 was sentenced to 6 years of prison, he was handcuffed, blindfolded and the accompanying staff punched him on the head while in the car, inflicting heavy blows; witness 21LC-0082 lost consciousness from the blows to the head. Upon arrival to the prison, this time 6 of the Armenian POWs were squeezed into the cell. One of the POWs told the rest of them in the cell that he was sentenced to 6 months, and because this time period had passed since the day he was captured, that he was being sent back to Armenia. This was incomprehensible to witness 21LC-0082 because everyone was taken as POW under the same conditions, at the same time and place. Witness 21LC-0082 was completely demoralized and thought he should mentally prepare to spend the rest of his life in Azeri prisons. He thought that if they could sentence him to 6 years without a good reason, then in 6 years they could make another false accusation against him and increase his sentence.
On 19 October 2021, witness 21LC-0082 was sent back to Armenia. In Armenia, he was met by national security officers and then taken to a hospital for examination. He cried tears of joy when he finally got to hug his family members again.
Indication of the forces carrying out the torture:
Witness 21LC-0082 recalls he was initially captured by the Azeri soldiers who identified themselves as the Yashma brigade of the Azerbaijani Special Forces. On the day of the capture, in the town of Hadrut, the Yashma servicemen were joined by another group of Azeri soldiers who wore black uniforms with “ДТХ” (Azerbaijan State Security Service) written on the uniform. Employees of the Azerbaijani state prisons, judges, prosecutors, attorneys and court employees of the Azerbaijani judiciary.
Information relating to torture:
Witness 21LC-0082 was subjected to severe systematic physical and mental torture during his arrest as well as the 10-month detention in the Azerbaijan state prison as a punishment for being Armenian.
According to witness 21LC-0082, the torture commenced on the day of the illegal arrest on December 13, 2020. During the initial walk to the town of Hadrut, the Azeri soldiers started beating him and his platoon mates, including punching them in the head, face and kicking them wherever they could. Throughout the entire time of walking and being beaten, the Azeris had their weapons pointed at witness 21LC-0082 and his platoon mates, and one of them was videotaping the torture.
During the transit to Baku following the initial capture, witness 21LC-0082 recalls his hands being tied very tightly; when one of his mates asked for the ties to be loosened, an Azeri soldier tightened them harder. On the way to Baku, Azeri soldiers punched, kicked and beat witness 21LC-0082 and his platoon mates with batons.
Upon arrival at the detention center, witness 21LC-0082 and his platoon mates were thrown out from the Kamaz truck; they were beaten all the way as they walked from the truck to their cells. They were punched, and beaten with batons. Witness 21LC-0082 received blows to the head, back, arms, and legs. During the first three days at the detention facility, witness 21LC-0082 was constantly punched, kicked, beaten by batons, electrocuted, and pepper sprayed in the eyes. One of his cellmates could not see for days as his eyes were damaged from the pepper spray. They were beaten day and night. The Azeri Guards would yell at them, “Why did you fight? Didn’t you know that these are our lands, they belong to the Azerbaijanis, what were you doing in these areas?” During one of the beatings, witness 21LC-0082 could no longer take the abuse and told the guard beating him, “If you are going to treat me like this, you better just kill me”.
During the transit to the second detention facility, on or about December 17-18, 2020, witness 21LC-0082 recalls that when they tried to speak at the SUVs, the guards shouted and slammed their heads against the inside walls of the SUV. The journey took between 40 to 60 minutes. Upon arrival at the new location, they were taken inside of a building, up to the third floor, and were beaten the entire way up to the third floor with batons.
In the next 10 months he spent at the second detention facility, witness 21LC-0082 and his Armenian POW cellmates were beaten in the cell regularly. The guards asked him who the president of Azerbaijan was and who was the president of Nagorno-Karabakh. It was necessary to answer Ilham Aliyev (the president of Azerbaijan) for both questions; if the answer was Arayik Harutyunyan (the president of de facto Republic of Artsakh), then witness 21LC-0082 and his cellmates would be beaten severely. He made the mistake of saying Arayik Harutyunyan initially and was beaten. witness 21LC-0082 recalls that they were mostly beaten by punches to the head, face and other body parts. He states they were treated as punching bags and as if the Azeri soldiers enjoyed the physical exercise. Once witness 21LC-0082 was beaten because he wrapped himself in a blanket due to the cold, and that was considered to be a violation of the rules of the prison according to the Azeri prison guards. Sometimes, they were forced to bend over and stand up for 2-3 hours repetitively. During the entirety of his detention at the second prison, witness 21LC-0082 and his cellmates were punched, kicked, beaten with batons every day. The only exception to everyday beatings was for 2-3 days prior to the arrival of Red Cross representatives; in those times the Azeri guards did not beat them but threatened them that if they said anything negative about their stay to the Red Cross, they would regret being alive. The Red Cross visited them every 4-5 weeks starting 10 February 2021.
Witness 21LC-0082 went through 4 interrogations, which occurred in the absence of an attorney and resulted in a coerced confession.
One day, he was taken to a room with two interrogators, approximately 40-45 years old, wearing suits and ties. They spoke Russian. They asked where he was from, under what circumstances he was captured, and other questions, which he answered. The interrogators took notes on papers in Azerbaijani language and asked him to sign them, which he did. All of the papers were in Azerbaijani language, there was no translator or lawyer present during the interrogations.
Witness 21LC-0082 went through 4 such interrogations between December 2020 and January 2021. Witness 21LC-0082 also signed additional paperwork at other times under threat of violence; all paperwork was in Azerbaijani language and no interpreter was provided. Later all the signed paperwork was used against him in court.
Witness 21LC-0082 was kept in extremely poor detention conditions, amounting of ill-treatment:
Upon arrival at the first detention facility in Baku, witness 21LC-0082 and his platoon mates were all squeezed into small cells with a small window, without beds to sleep on. There was a sink and a toilet in the cell, but they were not allowed to use them, there was a bench to sit on. There were 4 POWs per cell. Witness 21LC-0082 stayed in these cells for 3 days. During these 3 days, witness 21LC-0082 and his platoon mates were fed only once with soup. No hygiene items were provided. They slept on the ground at night. They tried to hug each other for warmth as blankets were not provided.
Upon arrival at the second detention facility, on the third floor, they were forced to lay down on the ground and stripped naked. Then they were provided with some civilian clothes; witness 21LC-0082 received just a sweater, socks and underwear. He was then taken to a cell, where 4 other POWs were squeezed into along with him. It was cold in the cell, the wind was blowing through the holes in the walls, the cell door, and through the window. The heating system did not work. When witness 21LC-0082 tried to cover the holes in the wall to prevent the wind from blowing in, the prison guards took him out of the cell and beat me repeatedly with a baton.
During the 10-month stay at the second detention facility, witness 21LC-0082 and his cellmates were fed 3 times a day, but the food was not in sufficient quantity. They were given soap and washing powder a few times per week. They were not given toothpaste nor a toothbrush. They shared one towel among 5 people. Witness 21LC-0082 wore the same clothes throughout his stay in the prison which he could not wash, and he had no other clothes. According to him, hygiene in the prison was nonexistent. There was a shower in the cell, but they were provided with hot water only twice a week. However, during the time when they were allowed to shower, sometimes the water was too cold, and sometimes it was too hot to shower.
Was the alleged victim(s) examined by a doctor at any point during or after the victim’s ordeal? If so, when? Was the examination performed by a prison or government doctor?
Witness 21LC-0082 indicates that at the first detention facility neither him nor other Armenian POWs ever received any medicine or medical treatment, despite being constantly beaten. At the second detention facility, two doctors approached them in the cell and asked what their medical complaints were and what diseases they had. The doctors did not perform any medical examination; they only wrote what the POWs said and checked their weight on a scale. The doctors made notes for themselves and left.
Was any person, such as a lawyer, relatives or friends, permitted to see the alleged victim(s) during detention? If so, how long after the arrest?
During the ten months of detention, a lawyer visited witness 21LC-0082 once. The lawyer asked him what problems he had, whether they were being fed or beaten. Witness 21LC-0082 did not say anything about being beaten, because he did not think that the lawyer could be trusted. He did tell the lawyer that none of the accusations against him were true, that he was not a participant in the war, he did not intend to carry out acts of terror, that he had legally received his weapon from the Armenian government.
6.2 The case of 21LC-0078
Chronological summary of the incidents:
Witness 21LC-0078 was a member of the Armenian Armed Forces, and on 8 November, 2021, a year after the 44-Day War, he was sent to construct a road near the town of Sisian in the Armenian province of Syunik, on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Starting 12 November, 2021, Azerbaijani soldiers would approach witness 21LC-0082 and other soldiers and aggressively demand that they stop working. On 14 November, the Azerbaijanis called in reinforcements, opening fire on Armenian positions along the line of contact and overtaking four Armenian positions while also surrounding the position that our platoon was holding. On 16 November, 2021, Azeri soldiers encircled witness 21LC-0082 and 12 of his platoon mates at gunpoint, after promising to continue negotiations peacefully. A fight broke out and an Azeri soldier overwhelmed witness 21LC-0082, hitting the back of his head from behind, taking his weapon, and holding him by his neck, choking him severely. Still holding him by his neck, the soldier dragged him toward their post which was about 100 meters away. At that point, a firefight broke out between the two sides, lasting 20-30 minutes. One of his platoon mates was critically injured on both his legs. Also, another platoonmate blew himself up with a grenade to avoid capture. In the end, witness 21LC-0082 and some of his platoon mates were then transported to the first prison in Baku and then to the second one on 18 November, 2021; throughout his detention at both prisons, witness 21LC-0082 was subjected to systematic torture as described below. He was interrogated three times and had to sign documents under duress written in the languages he did not understand.
On 19 December, 2021, three of witness 21LC-0082’s cellmate, were released. Three other Armenian POWs were brought to his cell, with whom witness 21LC-0082 was at the first detention center. On 29 December, 2021, a guard opened their cell door and called witness 21LC-0082’s name, asking him to come out. Witness 21LC-0082 was taken to the Azeri Human Rights Defender, Sabina Aliyeva, in the same building. The same day witness 21LC-0082 was flown to Armenia.
Indication of the forces carrying out the torture:
Witness 21LC-0082 identified an Azerbaijani brigade, called Yashma (Azerbaijani special forces), participating in his arrest by the lighter green and yellow color of their uniforms. The Azeris who captured witness 21LC-0082 told him that they were Yashma and were receiving $3,000 monthly salaries and were all orphans from orphanages and thus had nothing to lose.
Information relating to torture:
Witness 21LC-0082 was subjected to severe systematic physical and mental torture during involuntary transit to the Azerbaijan state prison as a punishment for being Armenian.
Upon his capture, witness 21LC-0082’s hands were initially tied with a shoelace, and then they were zip-tied. When an Azeri soldier took his knife out and approached him to change the shoelaces to zip ties; witness 21LC-0082 thought he was going to slit his throat because he had seen videos posted online of Azeri soldiers killing Armenian POWs in such a manner. Witness 21LC-0082 was blindfolded and initially thrown into a truck; he had no idea where he was being sent to.
During the entire ride, Azeri soldiers punched and kicked witness 21LC-0082 and other Armenian soldiers in the face and stomach, slapped them, beat them with sticks, and forced them repeatedly to say “Karabakh is Azerbaijan” and other things in their language which he did not understand. Witness 21LC-0082 was repeatedly hit on his knees with a hammer and a stick. Witness 21LC-0082 recalls that the pain was so severe that he thought that his knee might be broken. They also hit him on his head with a hammer and a stick. One of the Azeri soldiers put a knife to his ear, then throat threatening to cut it, at which point witness 21LC-0082 was sure he was going to be murdered.
Witness 21LC-0082 indicates that his hands were tied very tightly with a zip-tie; when he complained about the pain, the Azeris tightened the ties even more. His hands were already blue, and he was sure that if they remained tied so tight for another hour, a gangrene would form. The Azeri soldiers mockingly asked him how his hands were feeling, and he answered that they were fine so that they would leave him alone. When he could no longer feel his hands, he explained it to them and eventually they took the plastic tie off very roughly, causing his wrist to bleed. Witness 21LC-0082 developed permanent scars and damage on his wrists (see Annexes B1 and B2). Presently witness 21LC-0082 continues feeling numbness in his hands.
Witness 21LC-0082 was subjected to severe systematic physical and mental torture during his detention to the Azerbaijan state prison as a punishment for being Armenian.
Upon arrival at the first detention facility where he spent 2 days, witness 21LC-0082 and another Armenian POW were beaten up by 7 Azeri soldiers. Then, over ten Azeri soldiers armed with assault rifles and bayonets approached the two POWs and started beating them while screaming insults. They once again made them repeat “Karabakh is Azerbaijan.” At some point, one of the Azeri soldiers pointed his gun at witness 21LC-0082’s head and threatened to kill him. He was shouting in Russian “Didn’t you feel sorry for our guys, their families…” Witness 21LC-0082 told the soldier to go ahead and shoot him, at which point he was beaten even more severely. The beating lasted for over an hour. Such beatings were frequent in this prison. Witness 21LC-0082 was beaten more frequently than the others due to his act of defiance. Throughout the two-day stay at the first prison, the Azeri soldiers beat them regularly with batons and by kicking and punching them. The Azeri soldiers did not allow them to sit down in the cell for 2 straight days under threat of violence. If they tried to sit, they would enter the cell and beat them more. Witness 21LC-0082 could hear the awful sounds of beatings and screaming coming from nearby cells. All of them were standing during these two days. His knees were very swollen from the previous beatings. No medical treatment was provided. The Azeri soldiers were frequently and intentionally hitting his injured knee to cause more pain.
At the second prison, witness 21LC-0082 and other POWs were systematically beaten although they were allowed to sit. Every time when the cell door opened, they had to stand up and loudly say “Karabakh is Azerbaijan.” They also had to do this whenever the prison guards kicked or knocked on the cell door. If the Armenian POWs did not meet these conditions, then they were beaten severely.
Before the ICRC’s visits, the Azeri guards warned witness 21LC-0082 and other POWs against complaining about the mistreatment, threatening that otherwise “it would be bad for [them].” Knowing that other Armenian POWs were tried and convicted in Baku courts using fabricated evidence, witness 21LC-0082 was afraid that he would be tried based on false accusations and spend the rest of his life in a Baku prison; he thus complied with prison guards’ demands.
Witness 21LC-0082 went through rounds of interrogations, which occurred in the absence of an attorney and resulted in a coerced confession.
The interrogations started on 18 November, 2021, the first day he arrived at the second prison facility. He was taken to a small kitchen-like room. Inside, there was an overweight man with a mustache and dark hair, combed on one side, wearing a suit and tie presenting himself as Robert. He was over 30 years old and spoke fluent Armenian. There was another man in the room who was thin with a mustache and dark hair. Robert said that if he wanted the ICRC to visit us, they would, if he didn’t, they would not. Robert asked witness 21LC-0082 for personal information about his family members, phone numbers, his role in the army, if he had social media accounts, etc. Witness 21LC-0082 asked Robert what his status was, and he said that some of us were considered Missing in Action (MIA), others were POWs. Robert told witness 21LC-0082 that he was considered as MIA. Robert told him that they could do whatever they wanted to those of them considered MIA — that they could kill and bury him and no one would ever know anything. Witness 21LC-0082 was sure that this was the fate of many of his comrades. This interrogation did not last long. The next day, on 19 November, 2021 Azeri soldiers took witness 21LC-0082 to another building blindfolded, which he assumed was their prosecutor’s office, for further interrogations. There was a woman conducting the interrogation and asking almost the same questions as Robert had asked before. After the interrogation, she gave witness 21LC-0082 a document to sign which was written in Azerbaijani and English languages that he does not understand. When witness 21LC-0082 asked what that document was, she said that it was stated in that document that his testimony was true and in his words. He signed that document.
The last interrogation was with Robert in the main detention center. He asked approximately the same questions as in the prosecutor’s office. He told witness 21LC-0082 to write “I, [name], am willingly cooperating…” Robert gave him the nickname of “Monica” and videotaped him saying the words he wrote. He then made him sign what he had written. Robert told him that he would stay in Baku prison for a very long time.
Witness 21LC-0082 was kept in extremely poor detention conditions, amounting of ill-treatment:
Upon arrival at the first detention facility in Baku, witness 21LC-0082 and two other POWs were squeezed into a cell of around 5×5 square meters. They spent 2 days at that place. During this time, the Azeris did not provide them with any food.
After they reached the second prison facility, the guards squeezed witness 21LC-0082 and 5 other Armenian POWs into a single cell with five bunk beds, slightly smaller than the previous one. There, the food was provided, but not in sufficient quantity. They were served food used for pigs, such as potatoes covered in mud. Still, due to his chronic starvation, witness 21LC-0082 would still eat the muddy potatoes.
Was the alleged victim(s) examined by a doctor at any point during or after victim’s ordeal? If so, when? Was the examination performed by a prison or government doctor?
Witness 21LC-0082 was not provided with any medical treatment during his stay at the first prison despite severe beatings and food deprivation. Upon arrival at the second prison, witness 21LC-0082 saw a doctor whom he asked whether his swollen knee had been broken, to which the doctor responded that “it will pass,” and no medical treatment was provided at any point during the detention.
Was any person, such as a lawyer, relatives or friends, permitted to see the alleged victim(s) during detention? If so, how long after the arrest?
Witness 21LC-0082 was provided an opportunity to call his family. However, an Azerbaijani named Robert stood next to him while he was speaking to his family. He was only allowed to talk on the phone via speaker mode so that Robert could hear.
6.3 The case of 21LC-0043
Chronological summary of the incidents:
On November 28, 2020, witness 21LC-0043 returned to military duty in Khtsaberd in NagornoKarabakh to replace the servicemen stationed there. Along his platoon of 62 soldiers in total, he remained in this position for 17 days, until December 13, 2020. On that day, they were ordered to retreat from their positions, and while doing so, they walked on a group of Azerbaijani soldiers who took them into custody. He was then transported to a prison in Baku which he reached on December 15, 2020.
Indication of the forces carrying out the torture:
The soldiers who detained witness 21LC-0043 presented themselves as the Yashma brigade of the Azerbaijani Special Forces. They were later joined by a different group of soldiers who had “DTX” inscripted on the uniform (Azerbaijan State Security Service). Employees of the Azeri state prisons, judges, prosecutors, attorneys and court employees of the Azerbaijani judiciary – were all involved in torture.
Information relating to torture:
Witness 21LC-0043 was subjected to severe systematic physical and mental torture during involuntary transit to the Azerbaijan state prison as a punishment for being Armenian.
After his detention, witness 21LC-0043 and his platoon mates were made to walk to the city of Hadrut. During this walk, they did not get water, only a tiny piece of bread. The Azerbaijani soldiers beat them the entire way, including punching in the head, face and kicking. They gave their bags to them to carry, which weighed 30-35 kilograms. Every Armenian POW, including witness 21LC-0043, was guarded by 1 or 2 Azerbaijani soldiers with guns pointed at them. Witness 21LC-0043 and his platoon mates stayed in the village for about one hour. During this hour, they were made to kneel and lower their heads and whoever sat was beaten by several soldiers. They also videotaped them. witness 21LC-0043 was then thrown into a Ural track for transportation; if anyone tried to speak during transit or make a sound, the Azeri soldiers would beat them, including slapping them hard in the face.
Witness 21LC-0043 was subjected to severe systematic physical and mental torture during his detention to the Azerbaijan state prison as a punishment for being Armenian.
On December 15, 2020, witness 21LC-0043 arrived at a state prison in Baku. Once at the prison facility, the Azerbaijani soldiers started kicking and punching witness 21LC-0043 and other POWs while throwing them out of the truck. One Azerbaijani soldier punched witness 21LC-
0043 in the eye. He was thin and tall, wearing a light green military uniform (witness 21LC0043’s eye was bruised and swollen severely and did not heal for three months). After herding them inside and before putting them in cells, Azerbaijani soldiers continued their beating with batons, kicking and punching them in the head and other body parts, while witness 21LC-0043 and other POWs were obeying their order of removing their shoelaces.
The prison guards forced witness 21LC-0043 and other POWs to stand under threat of violence, and they could only sit whenever they were ordered to do so. They could not sleep. Whenever one of them in the cell would sit down without permission, the prison guards would beat everyone in the cell. Also, every hour the guards would enter the cell and beat everyone with batons. According to witness 21LC-0043, each Armenian POW was beaten by four Azerbaijani soldiers, and if any of them tried to defend themselves while being beaten, it would result in more severe beatings. Witness 21LC-0043 was beaten regularly, with the rest of his cellmates.
Azerbaijani soldiers did not allow them to use the toilet in the cell. One of witness 21LC-0043’s cellmates could not control it anymore and urinated his pants. Witness 21LC-0043 saw his cellmates being forced to kiss the Azerbaijani soldiers’ boots. As one of the cellmates initially resisted, Azerbaijani soldiers plucked his hair with pliers and hit him with batons until he finally gave in. Witness 21LC-0043’s cellmate was loudly screaming in pain for about two hours, yet no medical assistance was provided. Witness 21LC-0043 constantly heard loud screams from different cells nearby. Azerbaijani soldiers pepper sprayed their eyes and beat them with batons. They were also beaten and forced to clean the floor and the toilet area of the cell.
Witness 21LC-0043’s platoon’s officer was in the same cell with him. One day he was taken out to the parade ground and was beaten severely. He was also electroshocked. When he was brought back, he was extremely weak. He couldn’t even speak. He was trembling from pain. Sometime later, he begged witness 21LC-0043 to kill him because he could not take it anymore. Witness 21LC-0043 was scared. All of them were ordered to be seated in a particular place in the cell, and the platoon officer was ordered to sit in the front so when a guard came to beat them, he would know who the officer was and would beat him harder. After the officer begged witness 21LC-0043 to kill him, witness 21LC-0043 swapped places with him as he had more strength and could take more beatings while the officer was in an extremely bad physical and psychological condition.
Witness 21LC-0043 spent about 2 days at the first facility, until December 16, 2020.
After two days, on December 16, 2021, witness 21LC-0043 was transported to another prison facility. One Azerbaijani soldier said that it was the “Sanhay Detention Center.” The drive took about 30 minutes. Upon arrival at the new location, witness 21LC-0043 and other POWs were taken inside of a building, and personnel in this location were mostly wearing black uniforms. Ten of the Armenian POWs were taken to a room where we were ordered to strip naked and lie on the floor face down. While they were on the floor, the Azerbaijanis were walking and jumping on their backs with their boots. Witness 21LC-0043 was in pain as the person who was jumping on his back was also kicking his in the head. He was given a shirt to wear. Afterwards they distributed everyone into cells.
Witness 21LC-0043 spent about four months in the second detention facility, undergoing daily beatings and other forms of torture. Four to five guards would open the door every single day and beat them with batons, kicking and punching. The other two had to watch their friend being beaten and wait for their turn.
The guards had rules for them and also punishments. For example, they had to say “Karabakh is Azerbaijan” every time the door or the small window on the door opened. Sometimes they had to kneel or line up when the door opened. They could not move freely. They were not allowed to sleep or lie down during the day or speak in a loud voice. As a punishment, the guards would make witness 21LC-0043 and his cellmates kneel for hours, or stand for hours with their heads down.
In January 2021, some people came and drew witness 21LC-0043’s blood. They did not explain what they were doing. When witness 21LC-0043 first saw them, he thought they were going to administer a lethal poison injection.
During the seven months of witness 21LC-0043’s detention, the Red Cross visited him 4 times. The guards threatened them to say nothing to the Red Cross about their mistreatment or else it would be “very bad” for all of them.
After interrogations, witness 21LC-0043’s sham trials commenced. The main charges were terrorism, violating the state border without a document, illegal possession of weapons and ammunition, and intimidating the civilian population. He thought he would spend the rest of his life in a prison in Azerbaijan. Witness 21LC-0043 was present at four court hearings; he received a sentence, but on 3 July, 2021, he was flown back to Armenia.
Witness 21LC-0043 developed permanent disability, and the injuries sustained in the Azeri detention precluded him from doing moderate work. Occasionally he runs out of breath and suffers from exertion. Any physical work makes his spine hurt. Once he lost consciousness. his mother has been noticing that at times his eyes uncontrollably shook back and forth. He had not had any of these health issues prior to his captivity.
Witness 21LC-0043 went through three rounds of interrogations, which occurred in the absence of an attorney, accompanied by severe beatings and electroshocking, and resulted in a coerced confession.
On December 18, 2020, witness 21LC-0043 was taken blindfolded to another building for interrogation. The guards intentionally slammed his head on the walls when he was moved from the cell to the interrogation room. During the interrogations, he was asked who he was, what orders he had been given, who his commander was, etc. The interrogator was of larger stature who presented himself as Robert. He spoke fluent Armenian.
The second interrogation took place after the first court proceeding. There were three people.
One of them was witness 21LC-0043’s allegedly assigned lawyer. They called witness 21LC0043 in and ordered him to kneel. A senior sergeant kicked him hard, and witness 21LC-0043 fell. His assigned lawyer who he describes as donning a suit and overweight, punched him in the head. When the lawyer left, the interrogator punched witness 21LC-0043 on the face. Then, the others in the room (three persons) started to kick and punch him while he was on the ground.
During the third interrogation, witness 21LC-0043 was electroshocked on his back and on his arm. The pain was severe. A person with civilian clothing pointed a Makarov gun at his face and told him to tell the truth whether he had fought in Jabrayil during the war, otherwise he would shoot him dead. That person was of a larger stature, about 45-50 years old with black hair. Witness 21LC-0043 genuinely thought he was going to die that day. He was given a document to sign, so he did. It was written in Azerbaijani. Witness 21LC-0043 did not understand anything but he was forced to sign it anyway. He was told that he had signed his testimony. They told witness 21LC-0043 that he was a terrorist while beating him. Afterwards he was dragged into another room and was further beaten by 4 other people in civilian clothing. One of them electroshocked him again.
Witness 21LC-0043 was kept in extremely poor detention conditions, amounting to ill-treatment:
At the first detention facility, witness 21LC-0043 and 4 other POWs were squeezed into a 6square-meter cell. The beds in the cell were attached to the wall and there was a lock on them so that the Armenian POWs could not use them. They spent two days there, and were not given any water during this time; they were provided cabbage for food.
At the second detention facility where he spent 4 months, witness 21LC-0043 recalls the size of the cell was about 4 by 2.5 meters. There was a toilet, a bunk bed, and one of them slept on the mattress on the ground. There were three of them in the cell.
On 24 April 2021, witness 21LC-0043 was moved to another cell. There were six of them in total in the new cell. It was about 12 square meters. There were four bunk beds, a toilet, and a table. It was freezing in the cell, and they were very cold during the entire winter. They only had soap. Twice a week there would be hot water to shower. The food was given three times a day in very small portions. The quality of the food was bad, sometimes it was rotting, and witness 21LC-0043 was feeling hungry almost all the time. To receive food each time, he had to say “Karabakh is Azerbaijan.” They did not have toothpaste, toilet paper, towels, socks, or any hygiene product until the Red Cross first visited them.
Was the alleged victim(s) examined by a doctor at any point during or after the victim’s ordeal? If so, when? Was the examination performed by a prison or government doctor?
Despite severe beatings, no medical care was ever offered.
Were any person, such as a lawyer, relatives or friends, permitted to see the alleged victim(s) during detention? If so, how long after the arrest?
A lawyer beat witness 21LC-0043.
6.4 The case of AUA0068
Chronological summary of the incidents:
On November 28, 2020, witness AUA0068 was posted to Hadrut (currently under the control of Azerbaijan) to replace the servicemen stationed there. On December 13, 2020, his commander ordered that his platoon evacuate their post to be sent home. On the way out, in Khstaberd, witness AUA0068 and some of his platoon members ran into the Azerbaijani military personnel who presented themselves as the Yashma brigade of the Azerbaijani Special Forces. The latter ordered that they surrender. Witness AUA0068 and his platoon members did just that, giving up their weapons to Azerbaijani forces, thinking that they would be handed over to the Russian peacekeepers given the 2020 ceasefire agreement.
The Azerbaijani military members tied their hands with a rope behind backs, took all of witness AUA0068’s personal belongings and marched him and his platoon mates 1 kilometer to a barn. The Azerbaijani soldiers videotaped them during the walk, at the barn and thereafter. The video later appeared on social media. Witness AUA0068 appears at the 0.05 seconds mark in the video.
Witness AUA0068 was forced to walk to an Azerbaijani village for 13-14 hours carrying heavy loads, and then he was transferred to a prison facility in Baku, along with about 20 platoon mates. Witness AUA0068 spent two days at the first detention facility, where he was constantly beaten and tortured as described below. He then was transferred to a second detention facility where he spent 7 months.
Witness AUA0068 was also put through a sham trial, and was present during 5 court hearings. He was accused of 1) violating the state border without a document; 2) illegal possession of weapons and ammunition; and 3) terrorism. The prosecution introduced his forced confession as the evidence. He was found guilty of illegally crossing the Azerbaijani state border and was sentenced to 6 months of prison. Soon after witness AUA0068 was sent to Armenia by plane. Witness AUA0068 developed migraines as well as permanent damage to his wrists among other issues following his detention in Azerbaijan.
Indication of the forces carrying out the torture:
The initial detention was done by the Yashma brigade of the Azerbaijani Special Forces. The latter were later joined by another 400 Azerbaijani soldiers. The Azerbaijani military personnel who captured witness AUA0068 wore two types of uniforms; one was whitish with white boots and the other was the green and gray military uniform. During the initial encounter, 100-150 additional Azerbaijani soldiers wearing uniforms with “DTX” inscriptions arrived. They wore a green military vest, green and gray military uniform and tan military boots. The torture was further carried out by the personnel of the two prisons/detention facilities in Baku. Witness AUA0068 recalls that the Azerbaijani prison employees wore a dark green uniform; one of them had two yellow stripes on his shoulders and his name was Tural, and the other one had a small yellow star. The latter had curly hair and blue eyes. Tural was overweight.
Information relating to torture:
Witness AUA0068 was subjected to severe systematic physical and mental torture during involuntary transit to the Azerbaijan state prison as a punishment for being Armenian.
Witness AUA0068 reports that after he had been captured by Azerbaijani soldiers, he and his platoon mates were forced to march through the forest to the nearest Azerbaijani village. During this walk, the Azerbaijani soldiers started to beat him and other Armenian soldiers. They were also forced to carry their heavy bags. One of the soldiers hit witness AUA0068’s mouth with the back of his gun because witness AUA0068 refused to carry his bag. Witness AUA0068 broke his tooth and cut his lip, as depicted in Annex B2. He was bleeding. The walk was about 13-14 hours long and the beatings were constant.
During the transit to Baku in a Ural truck, witness AUA0068 reports that he and his platoon mates were all slapped by a member of the Azeri military personnel.
Witness AUA0068 was subjected to severe systematic physical and mental torture during his detention to the Azerbaijan state prison as a punishment for being Armenian.
Witness AUA0068 states he experienced the most cruel beatings and mistreatment in the first detention facility where he spent two days upon arrival in Baku. Once there, he and his platoon mates were thrown out of the trucks and beaten. He was punched and kicked all over his body by both the police and Azerbaijani soldiers. He witnessed how one POW was thrown to the ground and kicked all over his body by five to six of the Azerbaijanis. While on the ground, the Azerbaijanis were kicking us in the head and upper body. Witness AUA0068 estimates that the day of his arrival at the first detention facility was around December 15, 2020. Five of them were put in a 2×3 sq. meter cell. One of the POWs among those 5 was not from witness AUA0068’s platoon. He was completely beaten up. His face was full of bruises. He told witness AUA0068 that he had been beaten up when he got captured in Khtsaberd. There was only one bunk bed in the cell which Armenian soldiers were not allowed to use, so they slept on the ground. There were no linen and hygiene items in the cell. There was a small window which was closed. During the daytime, witness AUA0068 had to remain standing. He and his cell mates were allowed to sit on the ground only during the nights; however, they were not allowed to lie down.
During the second night, witness AUA0068 was taken out of his cell to the hallway and got punched and kicked because of lying down in the cell. As a result, he got his nose broken. Witness AUA0068 indicates he could constantly hear the screams of other POWs in nearby cells as they were also being beaten. Hearing their screams was torture to witness AUA0068. No one slept those two days. There was a restroom in the cell, but the lid was locked. They were not fed on the day of arrival. The following day, on December 16, 2020, they were brought some food; however, they were only given 10 seconds to eat it. Witness AUA0068 just managed to eat one spoon of soup before it was taken away. They were getting water only after having been beaten up. Every time the prison personnel opened the door, they would beat witness AUA0068 and his cell mates over our heads for five minutes with batons. Once, they were taken out to the hallway and 10 to 15 people in civilian clothing started beating witness AUA0068 and his cell mates with a black batons and chains. He was beaten all over his body, but not the face. Witness AUA0068 states he could hear the screams of nearby POWs and knew that soon it was going to be his turn to be beaten up. He was forced to say “Karabakh is Azerbaijan.” He was also forced to curse the Prime Minister of Armenia. No medical assistance was provided.
Upon arrival at the second detention facility, witness AUA0068 noticed blood on the white floor on the way to his cell, which terrified him. There was a total of 5 people, including witness AUA0068, placed in one 3×5 sq meter cell. They were ordered to get completely naked. They were made to lie down on the ground on the stomach with their hands behind their heads. They remained stripped naked for an hour on the ground. While it was winter (December 17), the window and door to the hallway were open, and it was very cold. While witness AUA0068 was naked on the ground, he was beaten with a baton. It took a month for the bruise on his leg to heal.
It was windy and cold all throughout the winter months in the cell. For about three months, witness AUA0068 did not have any pants. He had just the underwear until the ICRC provided him with pants on 13 February 2021. He remembers always feeling cold and shivering in the cell. They were not allowed to sit or sleep on the beds during the day. Once, witness AUA0068 disobeyed that order and got punched and kicked all over his body, except his face. During the first month in these cells, witness AUA0068 and his cell mates were not allowed to sit; they were forced to stand until bedtime, otherwise they would be beaten.
During the seven months of his stay at the second detention facility, the lights were never turned off. Witness AUA0068 could not properly sleep because he was stressed. Witness AUA0068 would be lying down and thinking about his family and what would happen to him. Witness AUA0068 and his cell mates were forced to stand up or to kneel down and repeat, “Karabakh is Azerbaijan” every time the small window on the door was opened. This could happen 20 times a day.
Witness AUA0068 recalls that he felt claustrophobic in the small cell and was always anxious. He and his cell mates were fed 3 times a day but the portions were not adequate. During the first 3-4 months, witness AUA0068 did not have breakfast because the quality of it was disgusting. Once, Tural spit in his food before giving it to him. Witness AUA0068 and his cell mates were provided with hot water twice a week for 15-20 minutes to take a shower. They had drinking water twice a day. We were not given toilet paper.
On 15 February 2021, the ICRC brought them some clothes, and witness AUA0068 told them that they had to kneel down and repeat things and that they were beaten all the time. The ICRC informed the Azerbaijani prison personnel and the person with a small yellow star on his shoulder came and asked witness AUA0068 why he had told ICRC about the mistreatment. Witness AUA0068 responded that it was better to get beaten every day than to force him to kneel down and repeat things. Witness AUA0068 felt it was humiliating for him to do that. The prison guard started punching him and other POWs as well for what witness AUA0068 did. The Azerbaijanis opened the cells for witness AUA0068 and other POWs to walk only when the ICRC visited us.
Witness AUA0068 underwent multiple rounds of interrogations, where he had to sign documents under the threat of violence; the documents were in Azerbaijani which witness AUA0068 does not read or understand, and no interpreter was present. During one of the interrogations, he and some other POWs were taken to a different location by car. There witness AUA0068 was severely beaten; other POWs were also beaten and were screaming in pain. One of the prison guards kicked witness AUA0068 in the knee, forcing him to kneel down; witness AUA0068 remained kneeled throughout the interrogation. He was beaten with a baton and ruler. One of the interrogators electroshocked witness AUA0068 twice, forcing him to start running away. Witness AUA0068 was stopped, and was further electroshocked for 15-20 seconds in his neck and shoulder. Witness AUA0068 thought he would end up dead that day.
