Armenia`s Ombudsman appealed to the Committee of Ministers of the  Council of Europe on the issue of the immediate return of all  prisoners from Azerbaijam

ArmInfo. Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan today appealed to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the issue of the immediate return of all prisoners illegally held by Azerbaijan.

According to the press service of the Ombudsman's office, the  presented special report is connected with the fact that on March 9,  2021, the ECHR published a public notice to the Committee of  Ministers, indicating that the Azerbaijani government did not comply  with the deadlines set by the Prisoners of War Court and provides the  court with general and limited information. 

Tatoyan's report indicates that the behavior of the Azerbaijani  authorities (presenting the prisoners as "terrorists" or "saboteurs")  is a gross violation of international requirements. "All the  servicemen and civilians of the Armenian side were captured by the  Azerbaijani armed forces during the current, ongoing armed conflict,  therefore they are all prisoners, they must be immediately released,  returned to their homeland without any political or other  preconditions.

The Azerbaijani authorities are artificially delaying and  politicizing this process, grossly violating the rights of prisoners  and their families, causing them suffering and causing tension in  society.  It is absolutely reprehensible that the Azerbaijani  authorities do not publish the real number of prisoners of the  Armenian side, illegally detained. They inflict double suffering on  the families of the missing, since the situation for them is becoming  more and more uncertain, and this against the background of the fact  that the Azerbaijani authorities are constantly hindering the search  and discovery of bodies, "the statement of the Armenian Ombudsman  says.

It is also noted that the imperative of these issues should be  considered in the context of the policy of hatred and hostility  towards Armenia promoted at the state level in Azerbaijan.

The statement sent to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of  Europe contains a detailed analysis of international human rights  requirements, provides specific examples of human rights violations  and raises the need for assistance in the immediate return of  prisoners.

At the same time, the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of  Armenia emphasizes that the state bodies and officials of Armenia are  obliged to ensure proper communication with the families of prisoners  who have disappeared, to provide them with comprehensive information,  to act systematically, as well as to be attentive to them and be  attentive to their own words to exclude any tension.