ArmInfo.The Ombudsman of Armenia Arman Tatoyan said that Azerbaijan politicized the issue of Armenian prisoners at the UN. This is stated in the statement of the Ombudsman of Armenia.
Tatoyan stressed that it is unacceptable to link issues related to prisoners with territorial issues. The Ombudsman noted that earlier the Azerbaijani diplomat noted that the residents of the Shirak region of Armenia were transferred to Artsakh for sabotage.
"The Human Rights Defender of Armenia condemns such statements, and emphasizes that such actions are a gross violation of international law. Moreover, such actions can be regarded as a complete disregard for international law to protect the rights of prisoners. The Ombudsman says that 62 people are from Shirak region, as well as all other prisoners held in Azerbaijan are prisoners of war and were taken prisoner in the course of performing their military duty. Therefore, they must be immediately released, "Tatoyan stressed. The Human Rights Defender states that the initiation of criminal cases against 62 prisoners and their qualification as terrorists is also a gross violation of human rights. "They cannot be terrorists just because they took part in hostilities. This requirement is fixed in the Third Geneva Convention of 1949. Regardless of political processes, prisoners must be returned to their homeland," the ombudsman said in a statement. Arman Tatoyan noted that the position of Azerbaijan that the provisions of the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020 apply only to those people who were captured before signing is inadmissible. According to the Ombudsman, this situation applies to all prisoners without exception. Moreover, according to Tatoyan, within the framework of the agreement, two saboteurs, convicted of murder in Artsakh, were sent to Azerbaijan. Consequently, it becomes obvious that the delay in the process of returning the prisoners is of an exclusively artificial nature.
The Ombudsman calls on the UN and all other human rights organizations to pay attention to these problems. Moreover, according to Tatoyan, the authorities are obliged to take into account all the above grounds when negotiating.
It should be noted that in December in Artsakh, near the village of Khtsabred, Hadrud region, 62 servicemen from the Shirak region of Armenia were captured by the enemy.