Ombudsman of Armenia accused Azerbaijan of artificially delaying the  process of exchange of prisoners and bodies of the dead

ArmInfo. The Ombudsman of  Armenia accused Azerbaijan of artificially delaying the exchange of  prisoners and bodies of the dead. Moreover, Azerbaijan continues the  practice of cruel treatment of prisoners who ended up in Azerbaijan  during and after hostilities.  According to the press service of the  Ombudsman, Arman Tatoyan noted that the Azerbaijani authorities  assert, on the one hand, that the exchange of prisoners will take  place after the end of the process of exchanging bodies of the dead,  and on the other, the process of exchanging bodies is being  unreasonably delayed. By such actions, Azerbaijan grossly violates  the basic requirements guaranteed by the Geneva Conventions.

"It is obvious that with these actions, Azerbaijan deliberately  intends to create an atmosphere of uncertainty and tension in the  Armenian society, undermine the psychological atmosphere, inflict  mental suffering on the families of the killed and captured military  personnel," Tatoyan stressed. He noted that this is nothing more than  a deliberate organization of hate propaganda and an integral part of  the coordinated policy of official Baku, which supports the practice  of torture and inhuman treatment of people.

From the very beginning of the war, since September 27, 2020, the  Ombudsman has constantly recorded that the attacks of the Azerbaijani  armed forces on Armenia and Artsakh were accompanied by torture and  inhuman treatment, massive destruction of peaceful settlements, other  gross violations of human rights committed with the involvement of  hired jihadists and terrorists, organized hate propaganda.

"Throughout all hostilities, as well as after their end, the media  and, especially, in the sources of Azerbaijani social media, videos  and photographs are constantly being published in which the  Azerbaijani armed forces desecrate the bodies of Armenian military  personnel, torture and humiliate captured military personnel and  civilians. All this is accompanied by admiring Azerbaijani comments  (evidence of these conclusions is recorded.) This is an integral part  of the methods used by Azerbaijan during the war in  September-November 2020. Throughout the war, it was obvious that the  Azerbaijani authorities encouraged these atrocities and humiliations,  having the goal is to inflame hatred and enmity in Azerbaijan towards  ethnic Armenians and to glorify those who committed these acts, "the  statement says.  Research by the Human Rights Defender confirms that  these vicious phenomena, which in no way fit the human imagination  and contradict all international requirements, are systematized and  widespread, ranging from political authorities to cultural and sports  figures. These findings are supported by numerous specific facts and  evidence.

After the end of hostilities, torture and inhuman treatment of the  captives of the Armenian side by the Azerbaijani armed forces  received new manifestations: their number and prevalence, the degree  of severity increased significantly. It is obvious that torture and  cruelty are carried out and also filmed by representatives of the  armed forces of Azerbaijan, whose actions are only encouraged.

"The issue of releasing and ensuring the safe return of prisoners,  the exchange of bodies of the dead, in the current conditions  requires an urgent, immediate solution. Therefore, I appeal to the  international community and especially to foreign structures with a  mandate to protect human rights: using maximum opportunities, it is  necessary to take real steps to urgent solving this problem, with the  aim of freeing people from inhuman, cruel captivity and grave war  crimes, "the Ombudsman of Armenia concluded.