Trial of Armenian Captives in Baku a Gross Violation of International Law – Ombudsman
by: Siranush Ghazanchyan | Published: June 09, 2021
The trials of the Armenian captives continue in Azerbaijan with gross violations of international law, Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan said in a statement.
Today, on June 8 and 9, regular court hearings were held in Baku on criminal cases against prisoners Ludvik Mkrtchyan, Alyosha Khosrovyan and Vigen Euljekyan.
Azerbaijani publications show that the Armenian prisoners are accused of allegedly torturing, forming illegal armed groups and other acts.
The Armenian Human Rights Defender states that all the mentioned persons were captured within the framework of the Artsakh conflict; the conflict is not over. All servicemen and civilians of the Armenian side detained in Azerbaijan are captives.
“Therefore, any kind of persecution or trial against any of them is a gross violation of international law, and their detention is a prohibited punishment. These rules are directly derive from requirements of international humanitarian law,” the Ombudsman said.
The gross violations of international law are enshrined in the ad hoc report of the RA Human Rights Defender.
“The policy of anti-Armenianism and hostility of the Azerbaijani authorities, in turn, comes to confirm the illegality of criminal proceedings and makes it senseless to talk about guaranteeing any human right. In these conditions, the right to life of prisoners is obviously endangered, vital rights are violated,” Arman Tatoyan said.
He stressed that the Azerbaijani authorities do not publish the real number of prisoners.
“Human Rights Defender’s investigations, complaints from the parents of prisoners and missing persons, clearly show that the trials are causing additional mental suffering to their families, and are causing tension in Armenian society. Therefore, these trials contradict the foundations of international law, grossly violate the rights of prisoners and the missing, their families, and openly politicize humanitarian issues,” the Human Rights Defense stated.
The Human Rights Defender draws the attention of the international community to the mentioned facts. All the captives of the Armenian side illegally detained in Azerbaijan must be released immediately and returned to their homeland without any preconditions.
Tags: Date-2021-06-09, ArtsakhWar-2020
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