YEREVAN (Panorama.am) — Azerbaijani forces have once again desecrated the military cemetery in occupied Stepanakert, according to footage released on April 21.
The video shows deliberate defacement of gravestones, particularly carvings of fallen soldiers’ faces, with eyes and mouths gouged out. Some tombstones appear broken.
The cemetery, a significant Armenian war memorial, has faced continuous threats since Azerbaijan’s full occupation of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). Numerous videos show Azerbaijani visitors calling for its complete destruction, the Artsakh Monument Watch reported .
Such acts of vandalism violate international law, including the International Court of Justice’s 2021 ruling requiring Azerbaijan to protect Armenian cultural heritage. The European Parliament’s March 2024 resolution also condemns the destruction and desecration of Armenian historical and cultural sites.
Furthermore, under Article 8 of the Rome Statute and the 1954 Hague Convention, the targeting of cemeteries and other cultural or religious monuments also constitutes a war crime.
