Written declaration No. 479 | Doc. 12591 | 14 April 2011

Murder of 9-year-old Azerbaijani civilian, Fariz Badalov

Signatories: Ms Ganira PASHAYEVA, Azerbaijan, EDG ; Mr Aydin ABBASOV, Azerbaijan, SOC ; Mr Ruhi AÇIKGÖZ, Turkey, EDG ; Mr Lokman AYVA, Turkey, EPP/CD ; Mr Erol Aslan CEBECİ, Turkey, EPP/CD ; Mr Paata DAVITAIA, Georgia, EDG ; Ms Sevinj FATALIYEVA, Azerbaijan, EDG ; Ms Sahiba GAFAROVA, Azerbaijan, EDG ; Mr Sabir HAJIYEV, Azerbaijan, SOC ; Mr Mike HANCOCK, United Kingdom, ALDE ; Mr Rafael HUSEYNOV, Azerbaijan, ALDE ; Ms Birgen KELEŞ, Turkey, SOC ; Mr Ertuğrul KUMCUOĞLU, Turkey, EDG ; Ms Nursuna MEMECAN, Turkey, ALDE ; Mr Krasimir MINCHEV, Bulgaria, EPP/CD ; Mr Patrick MORIAU, Belgium, SOC ; Mr Yüksel ÖZDEN, Turkey, EDG ; Mr Rovshan RZAYEV, Azerbaijan, EPP/CD ; Mr Samad SEYIDOV, Azerbaijan, EDG ; Mr Elkhan SULEYMANOV, Azerbaijan, EPP/CD ; Mr Mehmet TEKELİOĞLU, Turkey, EPP/CD ; Mr Tuğrul TÜRKEŞ, Turkey, EDG ; Mr Mustafa ÜNAL, Turkey, EPP/CD

This written declaration commits only those who have signed it.

On 8 March 2011, an Armenian Armed Forces sniper positioned in the occupied Azerbaijani territories targeted and killed 9-year-old Fariz Badalov, an inhabitant of the village of Orta Garvand in the district of Aghdam, who had been playing outside. Such a tragic murder of a minor is not just incompatible with the norms and principles of international law, but is also a human tragedy. The crime further strained the already tense situation in the region. The increasing violations of the ceasefire by the Armenian Armed Forces, including the targeting of Azerbaijani civilians, breach international law, the spirit of the commitments made by Armenia to the Council of Europe and also Assembly Resolution 1416 (2005), thereby seriously undermining the negotiation process conducted by the OSCE Minsk Group on the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

We resolutely condemn the murder of Fariz Badalov by the Armenian Armed Forces and call on the Yerevan authorities to ensure the conviction and punishment of the culprits. We demand that Armenia stop its snipers targeting civilians, honour the commitments on resolving the conflict made to the Council of Europe, including under Assembly Resolution 1416 (2005), and withdraw from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, thereby enabling 1 million refugees and IDPs to return to their homeland.