CCPR/C/116/D/2422/2014
1.1
The author of the communication, which was received on 18 March 2014, is Z, an
national of Armenia born in 1989 and residing in Denmark. The author is subject to
deportation to Armenia, following the rejection of his asylum application by Denmark on
27 May 2014. The author claims that, by forcibly deporting him to Armenia, Denmark
would violate his rights under articles 7 and 26 of the Covenant, as he would face
persecution and discrimination in Armenia due to his Azerbaijani origins and his
unauthorized desertion from the Armenian army. 1 The author is represented by counsel,
Marianne Vølund.
1.2
On 10 June 2014, pursuant to rules 92 and 97 of its rules of procedure, the
Committee, acting through its Special Rapporteur on new communications and interim
measures, requested the State party not to remove the author to Armenia while the
communication was under consideration by the Committee. On 23 March 2015, the
Committee denied the State party’s request to lift interim measures. The author remains in
Denmark.
Facts as presented by the author
2.1
The author states that his father was from Armenia and his mother from Azerbaijan.
He submits that, when he was 7 years old, unknown armed men abducted his father for
unknown reasons, and he never saw his father again. After the abduction, his family was
harassed by village residents “because his mother was from Azerbaijan”.
2.2
The author’s mother subsequently left him and his brother, V, at an orphanage, after
“placing their birth certificates on their chests beneath their clothes”. Two years later, the
author and V received a letter in which their mother stated that she regretted having had to
leave them. She provided her address and stated that they “could seek her out when they got
older”. The author and V “wrapped up the letter in tin foil and took turns keeping it in a
string around their necks”.
2.3
When he and V turned 18 in 2007, they were drafted to perform military service.
Upon boarding a bus heading to the military barracks, they gave their birth certificates to an
officer. They were taken to barracks in the village of Djabrahil to join the 9th defence
regiment in Nagorno-Karabakh.
2.4
Upon arrival at the barracks, the brothers’ names were called out, and they were
assigned to their quarters. Then, the author and V were told to remain where they were.
Two officers accompanied them to the office of the commander, who shouted at them, “Get
over here, you Turks!”. He told them that they would not be allowed the honour of being a
soldier, and that they were only fit to clean toilets. He then kicked the author in the groin
and punched V in the stomach. He spat on them and told the officers to “take them and
show them where they’ll stay”. The officers then led the author and V to a horse stable,
where they were shoved into “an empty box”.
2.5
Within a few days, everyone at the regiment, including the other conscripts and
officers, had discovered that the author’s mother was from Azerbaijan. He and V were
treated “almost as slaves,” and were constantly ordered to fetch water, cigarettes and other
items. The soldiers would put their boots in the laps of the brothers and tell them to shine
them. In the evenings, when the soldiers had finished work, they would use the brothers
“for competitions”. For example, one soldier would sit on the author’s shoulders, and
another would sit on V’s shoulders. The brothers were then forced to run around like
horses, while the soldiers beat them with a stick and told them to run faster. The other
soldiers would place bets on the outcome while shouting and cheering. In other instances,
1
2
The first Optional Protocol to the Covenant entered into force for Denmark on 23 March 1976.