Nagorno-Karabakh Puts Human Rights Areg Avanesyan finds himself in a peculiar situation. He lives in Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed region geographically located in Azerbaijan. Avanesyan is an Armenian citizen, as is typical of residents in Nagorno-Karabakh. For the past eight years young Avanesyan has been studying the Bible as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. When he reached 18 years of age he was drafted for military service in the local Nagorno-Karabakh armed forces, but his conscience compelled him to refuse participation. Because of this, the authorities launched a criminal case against him based on an article of their criminal code that stipulates a prison sentence of up to eight years if a person refuses military service during a state of war. On February 16, 2005, a court in Nagorno-Karabakh sentenced Areg Avenesyan to four years in prison. Avanesyan’s conscientious objection highlights the plight of another young man, Armen Grigoryan, who grew up not so far away in the country of Armenia. Grigoryan has also been studying the Bible for some time and made it known that he wanted to become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. But because of his conscience, he too faced a perplexing situation. He did not want to participate in military service but was summoned to the military recruitment office in the capital, Yerevan. Within 24 hours, Armenian authorities forcibly took him outside Armenia and into the Nagorno-Karabakh region, where he was transferred to a military unit and faced the choice of military service there or a prison sentence. Interestingly, when Armenia was admitted into the Council of Europe in January 2001, the government made a commitment to adopt a law on alternative service and to pardon all conscientious objectors and allow them to choose to perform either non-armed military service or alternative civilian service. Can a nation circumvent these obligations by sending conscientious objectors to military units outside its borders? And will authorities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region recognize such a basic a right as freedom of conscience, whether for local residents or for individuals forcibly brought in from Armenia? These questions presently remain unanswered, but meanwhile Avanesyan and Grigoryan seek only to have their peaceful conscientious stand respected so that they can make positive contributions to the communities in which they live. Media Contacts
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