Anti-Turkism or Turkophobia, hostility, intolerance, or racism against Turkish people,Turkic people, Turkish culture and Turkic countries,[1][2] is widespread in Armenia. According to a 2007 survey, 78% of Armenians see Turkey as a threat[3] while 63% of Armenians perceive Azerbaijan as "the biggest enemy of Armenia."[4]
Early period
Early 20th century
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There have been numerous cases of anti-Turkism in Armenia throughout history. During the Armenian–Tatar massacres of 1905–07, 158 Azerbaijani villages were destroyed or pillaged (compared to 128 destroyed or pillaged Armenian villages),[5] and 3,000 to 10,000 civilians were killed from both sides, with Azerbaijanis suffering higher losses,[6] which stemmed from Azerbaijani mobs being organized poorly and Dashnaks on the Armenian side being more effective.[7] On 26 December 1905, 500 Azerbaijani civilians were murdered by the Dashnaks in Ümüdlü.[8] According to the history professor Firuz Kazemzadeh, "it is impossible to pin the blame for the massacres on either side. It seems that in some cases the Azerbaijanis fired the first shots, in other cases the Armenians."[9]
During the World War I, many massacres and atrocities against Turks were carried out by the Armenian irregulars allied with Russians.[10] Historian Uğur Ümit Üngör noted that during the Caucasus Campaign, many atrocities were carried out against the local Turks and Kurds by the Russian army and Armenian volunteers.[11] At least 128,000 and possibly much as 600,000 Turks and Kurds were killed by Russian troops and Armenian irregulars during the period between 1915–1916. A further 400,000 Turks and Kurds were killed by Armenian troops in the occupied region between 1917 and 1918.[12]
After the World War I, the French Armenian Legion, armed Armenian refugees returning to their homes in Cilicia, which was occupied by the French. Eventually the Turks responded with resistance against the French occupation, battles took place in Marash, Aintab, and Urfa. Most of these cities were destroyed during the process with large civilian suffering. 4,500 Turkish civilians were massacred in Marash and 6,000-7,000 more were killed in Aintab.[13][14][15][16][17] Around 200 Turkish civilians were massacred by irregular Armenian forces in Yeşiloba, Adana on 11 June 1920.[18] The retribution for the Armenian Genocide served as justification for armed Armenians.[19]
Armenian irregulars fighting for the Greek army were responsible for massacres against Turkish civilians during the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). In Armutlu Peninsula, Armenian irregulars allied with Greek troops, local Greeks and Circasians,[20] pillaged and destroyed 27 Turkish villages, raped many Turkish women[21] and massacred 5,500[22] to 9,100[23] Turkish civilians. Armenian irregulars also played an important role in burning of the town of Manisa between 5–8 September 1922, in which 3,500 Turkish civilians burned to death and 855 more trying to escape the fires were killed by Greek troops.[24][25][26][27]
Soon afterward, a wave of anti-Azerbaijani massacres by the Bolshevik supported Armenians started in late 1910s and continued until 1920. In Baku, in events known as the March Days between 30 March–2 April 1918,[28][29] much as 12,000 Azerbaijani civilians were massacred by the Bolshevik supported Dashnaks and tens of thousands of others went missing.[30][31][32] Passing-by people that was identified as Azerbaijanis were killed and 300 Azerbaijani villages were burned.[33][34][35][36] In Shamakhi, in events known as the Shamakhi massacre between March–April 1918, 8,027 Azerbaijanis were killed in 53 villages, including 4,190 men, 2,560 women and 1,277 children. The victims' arms, legs, noses, ears were cut off, their eyes were gouged out, their bellies were torn, burned and tortured to death.[37] In Zangezur, paramilitary forces under Armenian military commander Andranik were responsible for many massacres of Azerbaijani civilians. Exact death toll of the massacres in Zangezur is unknown, but in the autumn of 1918, much as 10,000 Azerbaijanis were massacred, while several thousands more were killed in the late 1918 and 115 Azerbaijani villages were destroyed.[38] In Urmia, on 17 March 1918, 10,000 Azerbaijanis were slaughtered.[39] In Quba, 122 Azerbaijani villages were destroyed and 2800 Azerbaijanis were massacred many of whom were buried in a mass grave.[40][41] In Erivan, 199 Azerbaijani villages were destroyed and 135,000 Azerbaijanis were expelled.[39] Other massacres of Azerbaijanis by Armenians occurred in Tanahat, South Azerbaijan, Karabakh, Nakhchivan and Lankaran too.[42][43][44] In some regions they started in 1917 and continued until 1919, while in most regions the massacres occurred between 1918 and 1920.
On 7 July 1923, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast was created from the Azerbaijan SSR, and the capital was moved to Khankendi. In September, the same year, Khankendi was renamed to Stepanakert, meaning the city of Stepan, named after the Armenian Bolshevik revolutionary Stepan Shaumian, who was responsible for the 1918 massacre of Azerbaijanis in Baku.[45][46]
From 1948 to 1953, Azerbaijanis living in the Armenian SSR were deported. The deportations were carried out by the decision of the Council of Ministers of the USSR dated 23 December 1947 on the resettlement of Azerbaijanis from their settlements in the territory of present-day Armenia. The decision was carried out by force, and more than 150,000 Azerbaijanis were deported from 24 regions and the city of Yerevan.[47]
Late 20th century
On 27 January 1973, lone wolf Gourgen Yanikian killed Turkish consuls Mehmet Baydar and Bahadır Demir in Santa Barbara, California.[48] Yanikian's attack inspired many Armenians to make Turkophobic attacks, and led to formations of several Armenian militant organisations with Turkophobic attitudes and ideologies such as the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), Armenian Revolutionary Army (ARA), Red Armenian Army (RAA) and the Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide (JCAG).[49][50]
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One of the main tactics of Armenian militants were assassinations targeting Turkish diplomats and their relatives.[51] On 22 October 1975, Turkish ambassador Daniş Tunalıgil was assassinated in his study by the JCAG in Vienna, Austria.[52][53] On 24 October 1975, Turkish ambassador İsmail Erez was assassinated with his chauffeur Talip Yener in Paris, France, both died and both ASALA and the JCAG claimed responsibility.[54] On 16 February 1976, Turkish ambassador Oktay Cirit was assassinated by the ASALA in Beirut, Lebanon.[55] On 9 June 1977, Turkish ambassador to Holy See, Taha Carım, was assassinated in Rome, Italy, the JCAG claimed responsibility.[56][57] On 4 January 1978, ASALA militants attacked car of Turkish press attaché Metin Yalman with bombs in Athens, Greece, Yalman survived the attack without casualties. On 10 March 1978, three small bombs planted by the ASALA exploded under cars owned by Turkish diplomats in the Palaio Faliro-Kalamaki area of Athens, slightly injuring a Turkish diplomat, two policemen and a passerby. On 2 June 1978, car of Turkey’s Madrid Ambassador Zeki Kuneralp was attacked by JCAG militants, Kuneralp's wife Necla Kuneralp, retired ambassador Beşir Balcıoğlu, and Kuneralp's driver Antonio Torres died in the attack.[51][58][59] On 12 October 1979, son of Turkish ambassador Özdemir Benler, Ahmet Benler was assassinated in The Hague, Netherlands,[60][61] both ASALA and JCAG claimed responsibility.[62] On 22 December 1979, Turkish tourism councelor Yılmaz Çolpan was assassinated in Paris, France by the JCAG.[63] On 31 July 1980, an ASALA militant attacked Turkish administrative attaché Galip Özmen and his family killing Galip Özmen and his fourteen-year-old daughter, Neslihan Özmen, while seriously injuring his wife, Sevil Özmen, and his sixteen-year-old son, Kaan Özmen.[64] On 17 December 1980, Turkish consul general Şarık Arıyak was assassinated by 2 JCAG militants in Sydney, Australia, him and his bodyguard Engin Sever were killed.[65] On 4 March 1981, Turkish labour attaché Reşat Moralı and Turkish religion officer Tecelli Arı were assassinated in Paris, France by the ASALA.[51] On 9 June 1981, Turkish local secretary M. Savaş Yergüç was assassinated Geneva, Switzerland by the ASALA.[51] On 24 September 1981, Turkish attaché was assassinated in Paris, France by the ASALA.[66] On 28 January 1982, Turkish ambassador Kemal Arıkan was assassinated in Los Angeles, California by Harry Sassounian and one other JCAG militant.[67][68] On 4 May 1982, Turkish ambassador Orhan Gündüz was assassinated by JCAG in Somerville, Massachusetts.[69][70] On 7 June 1982, Turkish administrative attache Erkut Akbay was assassinated by JCAG in Lisbon, Portugal, his wife was also killed.[71][72] On 1 July 1982, Turkish consul general Kemalettin Demirer was attacked by 4 RAA militants, which failed, and Demirer survived the attack with no injuries. Attack was the only attack claimed by the Red Armenian Army (RAA).[73][74] On 27 August 1982, Turkish military attaché Atilla Altıkat was assassinated by the ASALA in Ottawa, Canada.[75] On 9 September 1982, administrative attaché Bora Süelkan was assassinated by Armenian militants in Burgas, Bulgaria.[51] On 9 March 1983, Turkish ambassador Galip Balkar was assassinated by the JCAG in Belgrade, Serbia.[76][77][78] On 14 July 1983, Turkish administrative attaché was assassinated in Brussels, Belgium, both ASALA and the JCAG claimed responsibility.[79][80] On 28 April 1984, Işık Yönder, husband of local secretary Sadiye Yönder, was assassinated by the ASALA in Tehran, Iran. On 20 June 1984, Turkish labour attaché Erdoğan Özen was assassinated by the ARA in Vienna, Austria. On 19 November 1984, Turkish international officer Enver Ergun was assassinated by the ARA in Vienna, Austria.[51]
Assassinations weren't the only tactic used by Armenian militants. On 5 August 1980, two ASALA gunmen stormed the Turkish Consulate General and demanded the location of the Consul General in Lyon, France. When the doorman did not understand the gunmen's broken French, the gunmen killed him. The ASALA gunmen then stormed the tourism waiting lounge, opening fire and killing one and wounding eleven French visitors.[81] On 24–25 September 1981, ASALA militants attacked the Turkish consulate in Paris, France and took 56 people hostage, where they killed 1 and injured 2 others.[82][83] On 7 August 1982, 2 ASALA gunmen attacked the Ankara Esenboğa Airport in Turkey, where they detonated a bomb in the middle of the crowded check-in area, and then opened fire with submachine guns on passport control officers and passengers. 9 people, including 7 Turkish, 1 German and 1 American died in the attack while 72 others were injured.[84][85][86] On 15 July 1983, a Turkish Airlines check-in counter was bombed by the ASALA at Orly Airport in Paris, France. The attack killed 8 people including 4 French, 2 Turkish, 1 Swedish and 1 American and injured 55 others.[87][88][89] The dead included one child.[90] On 27 July 1983, an attack on the Turkish embassy in Lisbon, Portugal perpetrated by 5 ARA militants resulted in 2 deaths and 2 injuries, not including all 5 attackers.[91][92] On 23 November 1986, two Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) members attempted to bomb the Turkish Consulate in Melbourne, Australia, but failed when the bomb detonated prematurely, killing no one but one of the attackers.[93][94]
First Nagorno-Karabakh War
In February 1988 in Yerevan, Armenia SSR, demonstrations demanding the incorporation of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of the Azerbaijan SSR into the Armenian SSR occurred. Nagorno-Karabakh's regional council voted to secede from Azerbaijan and join with the Armenian SSR.[95] These events led to a grew for anti-Turkism in Armenia, leading to massacres, expellings and human right violations of Azerbaijani people both in Armenia and lands occupied by Armenian forces in Azerbaijan.
On 19 September 1988, Azerbaijani population of Stepanakert was attacked by Armenian mobs. Many houses and other properties owned by Azerbaijanis were set on fire, Azerbaijani civilians were beaten and Azerbaijani population of city was expelled to Shusha. 16 Azerbaijanis were wounded in violence.[96][97][98] On 4 October 1988, Azerbaijani population of Khojaly was attacked, many Azerbaijanis were beaten and population was threatened with massacre if they don't leave.[39] On 24 November 1988, Azerbaijani populated Eyvazlı village of Qubadli was burned to the ground by Armenian mobs.[39] On 26 November 1988, 14 Azerbaijanis were burned to death by a group of Armenians in Gugark village of Lori.[39] On 12 January 1990, a group of 500 Armenian irregulars attacked Quşçu village of Lachin and murdered tens of Azerbaijani civilians.[99] On 26 March 1990, the Bağanis Ayrum of Qazakh was attacked by the Armenian military where about 20 houses were burned and 11 Azerbaijani civilians were massacred.[100][101][102] On 10 August 1990, possibly much as 20 Azerbaijani civilians were killed in a bombing in Goygol, perpetrated by 2 Armenians.[103][104][105] In early-June 1991, Armenian forces launched an attack on Qaradağlı of Khojavend and massacred 6 Azerbaijani civilians.[106] On 29 December 1991, Armenian forces captured Kərkicahan village of Khojaly, where they massacred 34 Azerbaijanis.[107] Between 10–12 February 1992, villages of Malibeyli, Ashaghi Gushchular and Yukhari Gushchular were captured by Armenian forces, and possibly much as 50 civilians were massacred.[108][109] On 17 February 1992, Qaradağlı village was captured by Armenian forces and possibly much as 90 Azerbaijanis were killed.[110][111] On 26 February 1992, largest massacre in the course of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict occurred in Khojaly, where Armenian forces and the 366th CIS regiment massacred at least 200 and possibly high much as 1,000 Azerbaijani civilians.[a] On 8 April 1992, 67 Azerbaijani civilians were murdered by Armenian forces in Ağdaban village. On 8–9 May 1992, during the Battle of Shusha, around 15,000 Azerbaijanis were displaced[116][117] and according to Azerbaijani sources, 193 Azerbaijani civilians were killed by Armenian forces.[118] On 28 August 1992, Armenian forces raided Ballıqaya village in Goranboy, where they massacred 24 Azerbaijan civilians and injured 8 others.[119][120] Between 27 March–3 April 1993, during the Battle of Kalbajar, around 62,000 Azerbaijanis were displaced by Armenian forces.[121] On 18 April 1993, Armenian forces commited a massacre in Başlıbel and killed 27 Azerbaijanis.[122] Between 12 June–23 July 1993, during the Battle of Aghdam, around 130,000 Azerbaijanis were displaced by Armenian forces.[123]
In the beginning of 1988 the first refugee waves from Armenia reached Baku. In 1988, Azerbaijanis and Kurds (around 167,000 people) were expelled from the Armenian SSR.[124] Following the Karabakh movement, initial violence erupted in the form of the murder of both Armenians and Azerbaijanis and border skirmishes.[125] As a result of these pogroms, Armenians have killed 214 Azerbaijanis and ethnically cleansed Azerbaijanis from all territory of Armenia between 1987 and 1990.[126] On June 7, 1988 Azerbaijanis were evicted from the town of Masis near the Armenian–Turkish border, and on June 20 five Azerbaijani villages were cleansed in the Ararat Province.[127] Henrik Pogosian was ultimately forced to retire, blamed for letting nationalism develop freely.[127] Although purges of the Armenian and Azerbaijani party structures were made against those who had fanned or not sought to prevent ethnic strife, as a whole, the measures taken are believed to be meager.[127] The year 1993 was marked by the highest wave of the Azerbaijani internally displaced persons, when the Karabakh Armenian forces occupied territories beyond the Nagorno-Karabakh borders.[128] The Karabakhi Armenians ultimately succeeded in removing Azerbaijanis from Nagorno-Karabakh.
During the entire war, up to 16,000 Azerbaijani civilians were massacred by Armenian forces,[129] 841 Azerbaijani civilians went missing[130][131] and 724,000 Azerbaijanis were displaced from Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding areas.[132]
Post-1994 era
Until 2020
Anti-Turkism grew in Armenia after the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.[133]
In 1990 a mosque identified as Azerbaijani in Yerevan's Vardanants Street was pulled down with a bulldozer.[134][135] The Blue Mosque is the only mosque that remains in present-day Yerevan, because among the Armenian public it is considered to be Persian, not Azerbaijani.[136]
In 2001, Varoujan Garabedian, perpetrator of the 1983 Orly Airport attack in which a Turkish Airlines office was bombed and 8 people including 2 Turks were killed, was released. He was greeted as a hero in his country, as mayor of Yerevan, Robert Nazaryan, had pledged to provide him with employment and accommodation, and in Yerevan Garabedian had a meeting with Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan,[137] who expressed happiness at his release.[138]
On January 16, 2003 Robert Kocharian said that Azerbaijanis and Armenians were "ethnically incompatible"[139] and it was impossible for the Armenian population of Karabakh to live within an Azerbaijani state.[140] Speaking on 30 January in Strasbourg, Council of Europe Secretary-General Walter Schwimmer said Kocharian's comment was tantamount to warmongering. Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe President Peter Schieder said he hopes Kocharian's remark was incorrectly translated, adding that "since its creation, the Council of Europe has never heard the phrase "ethnic incompatibility".[140]
In 2010 an initiative to hold a festival of Azerbaijani films in Yerevan was blocked due to popular opposition. Similarly, in 2012 a festival of Azerbaijani short films, organized by the Armenia-based Caucasus Center for Peace-Making Initiatives and supported by the U.S. and British embassies, which was scheduled to open on April 12, was canceled in Gyumri after protesters blocked the festival venue.[141][142]
On September 2, 2015, the Minister of Justice Arpine Hovhannisyan on her personal Facebook page shared an article link featuring her interview with the Armenian news website Tert.am where she condemned the sentencing of an Azerbaijani journalist and called the human rights situation in Azerbaijan "appalling". Subsequently, the minister came under criticism for liking a racist comment on the aforementioned Facebook post by Hovhannes Galajyan, editor-in-chief of local Armenian newspaper Iravunk; On the post, Galajyan had commented in Armenian: “What human rights when even purely biologically a Turk cannot be considered a human".[143]
On 4 July 2017, in the Alxanlı village of Fuzuli, 51-year-old Azerbaijani woman Sahibə Quliyeva and her 18-month-old granddaughter Zəhra Quliyeva were killed when their house was shelled by the Armenians.[144] Another woman named Sərvinaz Quliyeva, 52 and also an Azerbaijani, who was in the house at the time, was heavily wounded but survived.[145][146] Both sides accused each other of violating the ceasefire.[147] Armenian Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan did not deny that the shelling of Alxanlı had taken place but added that Azerbaijan was responsible for all casualties due to "continuing military provocations against Nagorno-Karabakh".[148] Local authorities of the unrecognised Nagorno-Karabakh Republic claimed "Azerbaijan was using its population as a human shield".[149] Azerbaijani Defense Ministry spokesperson Vagif Dargahly refuted these claims saying there had been no military headquarters or firing positions in Alxanlı at the time of the shelling.[150] On 6 July 2017, Azerbaijani state and local authorities organized a visit of foreign military attachés accredited to Azerbaijan and representatives of foreign media to Alxanlı.[151] Turkish Foreign Ministry,[152] ambassador of Iran to Azerbaijan,[153] senators and parliament members from the United Kingdom,[154] France,[155] Germany,[156] and Russia[157] condemned the Armenian side for launching attacks on civilian population.
On 23 July 2020, amid the July 2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes, a group of Armenians allegedly attacked the Azerbaijanis in front of the Azerbaijani embassy in Brussels, Belgium. In particular, one Azerbaijani woman was beaten. Then, a group of several Armenians also attacked a young Azerbaijani, beating him and filming it on camera.[158] On July 24, Belgian law enforcement agencies detained 17 Armenians who attacked the Azerbaijanis in Belgium.[159]
2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War
With the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, anti-Turkism grew both in Armenia and among the Armenian communities around the world.
Armenia struck many civilian Azerbaijani settlements outside of the conflict zone during the war, most frequently Tartar, Beylagan and Barda.[160][161] Reported attacks included an attack on Beylagan on 4 October, killing two civilians and injuring 2 others,[162][163] Goranboy on 8 October killing a civilian,[164] Hadrut on 10 October, seriously injuring a medical worker,[165] Tartar on 15 October, targeting a cemetery in the city resulting in three civilian deaths and at least five civilian injuries[166] and Fuzuli on 20 October, resulting in one civilian death and six injuries.[167][168] Between 4 and 17 October, four separate missile attacks on the city of Ganja killed 26 civilians, all Azerbaijanis except a 13-year-old Russian citizen,[169] and injured 125[170][171][172][173] with women and children among the victims.[174] The attacks were condemned by the European Union,[175] and Azerbaijani authorities accused the Armenian Armed Forces of "committing war crimes through the firing of ballistic missiles at civilian settlements", calling the third attack "an act of genocide".[176][177][178] Armenia denied responsibility for the attacks.[179][180] The Artsakh Defence Army confirmed responsibility for the first attack but denied targeting residential areas, claiming that it had fired at at military targets, especially Ganja International Airport.[181][182] Subsequently, both a correspondent reporting from the scene for a Russian media outlet and the airport director denied that the airport had been hit,[183] while a BBC News journalist, Orla Guerin, visited the scene and found no evidence of any military target there.[184] On 27 and 28 October 2020, Azerbaijani city of Barda was struck by missiles launched by the Artsakh Defence Army two times, resulting in the deaths of 26 civilians and injuring over 83, including a 39-year-old Red Crescent volunteer, while two other volunteers were injured.[185] Civilian infrastructure and vehicles were extensively damaged and attacks were the deadliest attack of the conflict. Armenia denied responsibility,[186] but Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch stated that Armenia had fired, or intentionally supplied Artsakh with, the cluster munitions and Smerch rockets used in the attack.[187][188] Artsakh acknowledged responsibility, but said it was targeting military facilities.[189] Marie Struthers, Amnesty International's Regional Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said that the "firing of cluster munitions into civilian areas is cruel and reckless, and causes untold death, injury and misery".[190] The Azerbaijani ombudsman called the attack a "terrorist act against civilians".[191] The use of cluster munitions was also reported by The New York Times.[192][193][194][195][196] On 11 December, Human Rights Watch released an extensive report about Armenia's unlawful rocket strikes on Azerbaijani civilian areas. The report investigated 18 separate strikes, which killed 40 civilians and wounded dozens more. During on-site investigations in Azerbaijan in November, Human Rights Watch documented 11 incidents in which Armenian forces used ballistic missiles, unguided artillery rockets, large-calibre artillery projectiles and cluster munitions that hit populated areas in apparently indiscriminate attacks. In at least four other cases, munitions struck civilians or civilian objects in areas where there were no apparent military targets. In addition to causing civilian casualties, the Armenian attacks damaged homes, businesses, schools, and a health clinic, and contributed to mass displacement. Human Rights Watch called the Armenian government to conduct transparent investigations into attacks by Armenian forces that violate international humanitarian law, or the laws of war.[197]
By 9 November, more then 93 Azerbaijani civilians were killed by Armenian forces,[198] while by 2 November the war had displaced approximately 40,000 Azerbaijanis.[199] Armenia reportedly used cluster munitions[200] and according to Azerbaijan, white phosphorus against Azerbaijani civilians.[201][202]
Incidents of torture and ill treatment of Azerbaijani POWs by Armenian forces were reported during the war. Most famously, in mid-November, videos of two wounded Azerbaijani soldiers, Amin Musayev and Bayram Karimov, receiving first aid by Ukrainian journalist Alexander Kharchenko and Armenian soldiers after the ceasefire came into force were spread on social media platforms. Following this, a video was released showing one of them being abused inside a vehicle. It is reported that Musayev was lying on the ground in the car and asked "where are we going?" In response, the alleged Armenian soldier said, "If you behave well, go home," and cursed, after which it became clear that the Azerbaijani soldier had been kicked and tortured. On 18 November, a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Yerevan said that information about these people was "being investigated." The ICRC's representative in Yerevan, Zara Amatuni, also declined to say whether she had any information about the two alleged Azerbaijani soldiers. The Artsakh's Ombudsman said he had no information about Musayev and Karimov, but that if they were injured, they were "probably in hospital in Armenia." The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the issue was being investigated and will be reported to the relevant international organizations. According to the ministry, "the information about the torture of prisoners is first checked for accuracy and brought to the attention of relevant international organizations."[203][204] On 25 November, ICRC's representatives visited Musayev and Karimov in Yerevan.[205] On 5 December, the families of Musayev and Karimov were informed of their condition thorough ICRC. According to a reported copy of the letter sent by Musayev, he stated that his condition was well. It was also reported that Karimov had sent a letter to his family, but his family denied this.[203] On 10 December, Amnesty International released a report on videos depicting war crimes. In one of the videos, Armenian soldiers are seen cutting the throat of an Azerbaijani captive. The captive appears to be laying on the ground, whilst gagged and bound when an Armenian soldier approaches him and sticks a knife into his throat. Independent pathological analysis confirmed that the wound sustained led to his death in minutes. Eleven other videos showing inhumane treatment and outrages upon personal dignity of Azerbaijani captives by the Armenian army has come to light. In several videos, Armenian soldiers are seen cutting the ear off a dead Azerbaijani soldier, dragging a dead Azerbaijani soldier across the ground by a rope tied around his feet, and standing on the corpse of a dead Azerbaijani soldier.[206]
Attacks targeting Turks and Azerbaijanis by the Armenians didn't occur only in Armenia and Azerbaijan. On 4 November 2020, in Beverly Hills, California, around 8:30 p.m. local time, a group of six to eight Armenian men between 20 and 30 years old walked into a Turkish restaurant on South Beverly Drive, saying that they came to "kill the Turks",[207] began destroying property inside the establishment and physically attacking the employees both inside and in an alley outside.[208] The victims sustained minor injuries and refused medical treatment at the scene.[207] Beverly Hills Police Department began investigating the incident as a hate crime.[209] Beverly Hills Mayor called it an "unacceptable act of hate and violence", adding that there was "no place for this behavior.[210] Turkey's ambassador to US, strongly condemned the attack, calling Los Angeles Mayor to do the same, and urging federal and local authorities to protect Turkish Americans there.[211][212] On the night of 7 November, two unknown individuals fired upon the building of the Honorary Consulate of Azerbaijan in Kharkiv, Ukraine. No one was injured in the incident. Kharkiv police launched a criminal case on the same day.[213] The Azerbaijani MoFA condemned the incident and accused the "radical Armenian forces" of being its perpetrators.[214]
