- Anush Apetyan, an Armenian soldier, was captured by Azerbaijani forces during their invasion of Armenian territories between September 13th and 14th.
- She was among over ten other Armenian soldiers seized alive, as reported by the Armenian Ministry of Defense.
- A graphic video depicting the torture and mutilation of a captured woman emerged on Telegram and was later identified as Anush Apetyan.
- In the video, it was shown that Apetyan had been severely tortured and mutilated. Her legs were cut off, at least one finger was severed and put into her mouth, and one of her eyes was gouged out and replaced with a stone.
- Azerbaijani soldiers in the video were seen to be celebrating and mocking Apetyan’s suffering.
Anush Apetyan (Armenian: Անուշ Ապետյան), born in 1986 and tragically passed away between 13th and 14th September 2022, was a woman serving in the Armenian military. She fell victim to brutal treatment, including torture, mutilation, and rape at the hands of Azerbaijani forces amidst the clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan in September 2022, which took place in the city of Jermuk. Apetyan was a mother to three children who, at the time of her death, were 16, 15, and 4 years old.
In the course of Azerbaijan’s incursion into Armenian territories between September 13th and 14th, it was reported by the Armenian Ministry of Defense that Anush Apetyan, along with over ten other Armenian soldiers, were seized alive by the Azerbaijani forces.
Subsequently, a deeply disturbing video emerged on Telegram, depicting the severe torture and mutilation of a captured woman by Azerbaijani soldiers.
Later, it was confirmed that the victim in the footage was Anush Apetyan, the Armenian soldier. The graphic content of the video revealed her having been subjected to extreme physical abuse, including the amputation of her legs, severing of at least one finger which was then put into her mouth, and the gouging of one of her eyes which was then replaced with a stone.
All the while, the Azerbaijani soldiers surrounding her were seen to be reveling in her suffering and deriding her.
On September 20, 2022, spokesperson Kıymet Yıldır from Dicle Amed Women’s Platform (DAKP) remembered and denounced the murder of Anush Apetyan by Azerbaijani forces. This was during a meeting of women in several Turkish cities, including Van, Diyarbakır, and Istanbul. The meeting was held to condemn not just Anush Apetyan’s killing, but also the murder of Jina Amini by Iranian police.
The Armenian Women’s Union also issued a statement, read by co-chairs Anahîd Qasabyan and Arbî Kespiryan in Leader Öcalan Park, Hasakah, AANES. They denounced both Anush Apetyan’s killing by Azerbaijani forces and Jina Amini’s death at the hands of the Iranian regime. They urged all women to stand together against oppression.
Bob Menendez, the Chair of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, called for stopping financial and military support to Azerbaijan after this video surfaced. He believed that U.S. foreign policy shouldn’t back countries that commit acts of war and terrorism.