Armenia’s representative to ECHR urges to refrain from public discussions on issue of Armenian prisoners of war illegally convicted in Azerbaijan

Statement by Armenia’s representative to the ECHR regarding the Armenian prisoners of war being illegally prosecuted

“According to the information received from open public sources regarding legal proceedings initiated by the Government of the Republic of Armenia in the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter ECHR), the Azerbaijani authorities are currently conducting fabricated criminal prosecutions of individuals captured as a result of the war unleashed on September 27, 2020, in a blatant violation of international humanitarian law. The Government of the Republic of Armenia has repeatedly stated officially and now reaffirms its position that the persons currently being held illegally in Azerbaijan are prisoners of war. Any criminal case against the captured Armenian persons has no legal basis and clearly contradicts the international legal norms. Moreover, the whole process of criminal prosecution on the basis of fictitious accusations against the Armenian civilians held by the Azerbaijani prisoners of war is accompanied by gross violations of the guarantees of the basic elements of a fair trial,” the statement read in part.

The Office of the Republic of Armenia Representative to the ECHR reports also conveyed its willingness to cooperate with lawyers, attorneys, the Bar Association or any other persons and / or human rights organizations on the matter.

Meanwhile, taking into account the hypersensitivity of the issue, the Office called for refrain from speculating on the topic and public discussions on the issue.