ECHR Judgment in V.T. and Others v. Azerbaijan: Violations of the Right to Life and the Prohibition of Torture Established

On 18 June 2026, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) delivered its judgment in the case of V.T. and Others v. Azerbaijan (Application No. 20075/16).

The case concerns the torture and killing of H.T., an Armenian serviceman who was wounded and rendered hors de combat during the April 2016 Four-Day War.

H.T.’s parents and sister, acting as applicants before the Court, argued that H.T. was seriously wounded during an attack by Azerbaijani armed forces and was unable to move independently. They submitted that, after being incapacitated, he was subjected to torture and subsequently killed by decapitation. The applicants further argued that the family was unable to recover all of H.T.’s remains and therefore could not conduct a proper burial. They also maintained that the torture and killing of their relative, coupled with the failure to return his body parts, caused them severe mental suffering.

In its judgment, the Court examined the factual circumstances of the case, the evidence submitted by the parties, and their legal arguments. The Court found:

• A violation of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (right to life);
• A violation of Article 3 of the Convention (prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment) in respect of H.T.; A violation of Article 3 of the Convention in respect of the applicants’ own suffering resulting from the circumstances of H.T.’s torture, killing, and the failure to recover all of his remains.

The Court’s findings are significant not only for the applicants in this case but also within the broader context of accountability for serious human rights violations arising from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The applicants were represented before the Court by human rights lawyers Ara Ghazaryan, Haykuhi Harutyunyan, Araks Melkonyan, Artak Zeynalyan, Hasmik Harutyunyan, and Siranush Sahakyan.

A press conference will be held on 24 June 2026 at 11:00 a.m. in the Kars Hall of the Ibis Hotel. During the event, the applicants’ representatives  Siranush Sahakyan, Araks Melkonyan, Haykuhi Harutyunyan, Ara Ghazaryan, and Hasmik Harutyunyan  will present the Court’s legal findings and discuss the judgment’s potential legal and political implications from the perspectives of individual justice, accountability, and international human rights protection.