PACE calls on Azerbaijan to immediately return Armenian prisoners

ArmInfo. At the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), one of the key topics discussed was the return of Armenian prisoners by  Azerbaijan.

All the speaking MPs, with the exception of the  parliamentarians of Turkey and Azerbaijan, called on official Baku to  immediately return home the Armenian prisoners of war and other  detainees.  "We must appeal to Azerbaijan - let's not bargain, they  were taken prisoner during the war, or after, they just need to be  returned home. We need a truce, let's put an end to the vicious  circle of war, "said one of the parliamentarians. All the speakers  spoke about Azerbaijan's failure to comply with the requirements of  the European Court of Human Rights, as well as violation of not only  the statements of the parties, but also a number of important  conventions, including Geneva, and international humanitarian law.  The lawmakers called illegal any detention of persons after the end  of hostilities, noting that this does not allow achieving trust  between the parties to the conflict.

At the same time, they spoke about well-grounded fears associated  with inhuman torture that degrades the dignity of a person to which  Armenian prisoners are subjected.

The parliamentarians also raised the issue of protecting cultural  heritage and demining territories.

The lawmaker from the "Prosperous Armenia" party Mikael Melkumyan  spoke quite emotionally from the Armenian side. He asked the PACE  members why the latter were silent when such crimes were committed on  the Azerbaijani side, why they did not change the rules and  procedures, which allegedly did not allow them to intervene in the  situation. But the main question of the Armenian parliamentarian  concerned the relatives of the prisoners who are awaiting their  return to Armenia. "What should I say to these families?" Melkumyan  asked.

After massive appeals voiced by a dozen European parliamentarians,  Azerbaijani and Turkish speakers, in their usual form, voiced  unfounded counter-accusations towards Armenia, stating that they were  disappointed with the discussion that took place today within the  framework of the regular  PACE session.