Taguhi Tovmasyan appealed to OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on issue of  Armenian POWs held by Baku

ArmInfo.Chairperson- of the  Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs,  opposition MP Taguhi Tovmasyan, within the framework of her powers,  urgently appealed to OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Polish Foreign  Minister Zbigniew Rau and his Special Representative for the South  Caucasus on the issue of the immediate return of Armenian prisoners  of war held in Azerbaijan.

According to a report received by ArmInfo from the parliamentary  Committee  on Protection of Human Rights, Tovmasyan drew the  attention of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office to the inadmissibility of  Azerbaijan politicizing the issue of returning Armenian prisoners of  war and putting forward new preconditions.

She stated that after such a long time, after the 44-day war in the  zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the issue of the return of  Armenian prisoners of war from Azerbaijan remains one of the most  important issues that require an immediate solution.  "In the current  situation, without a tough reaction from international partners, we  cannot ensure real progress. It is known that delaying the process of  returning prisoners of war, keeping people for political and military  purposes is a war crime, and Azerbaijan in addition to not returning  them yet, even politicizes the issue, putting forward new  preconditions.

Azerbaijan, grossly violating its international obligations under  international humanitarian law, in violation of the interim measures  of the European Court of Human Rights, hides the true number of  Armenian prisoners of war and hostages. At the same time, Azerbaijan  is unacceptably delaying the process of repatriation of the  above-mentioned persons, including women, to their homeland,"  Tovmasyan emphasized, also recalling the illegal trials perpetrated  by the Azerbaijani authorities against Armenian prisoners of war and  hostages, the inhuman treatment of them and torture committed on  religious and racial grounds.

In this vein, she stated that by initiating illegal criminal  prosecution, Azerbaijan is trying to deprive Armenian prisoners of  war and civilians under its control of the status provided for by the  Geneva Convention, thereby depriving them of the rights, privileges  and other guarantees provided for by this Convention.  "The  International Convention of February 6, 2007 "For the Protection of  Persons Missing as a Result of Violence" states that no one should be  subjected to enforced disappearance, even in conditions of war.   Denying the presence of prisoners or concealing information about the  fate or whereabouts of the missing person considered an international  crime.

Taking into account all the abovementioned circumstances and  arguments, I expect that the Organization for Security and  Cooperation in Europe, headed by you, will put serious political  pressure on Azerbaijan in order to comply with its international  obligations. Armenian servicemen, civilians captured by the  Azerbaijani military must be immediately released and returned to  Armenia. This should be done without any preconditions," Tovmasyan  stressed.

It should be noted that today, with the mediation of the EU and  France, Azerbaijan returned 8 more prisoners of war to Armenia.   According to the Azerbaijani side, in return for this step, the  Armenian side should provide information about the military and  civilians of Azerbaijan who died during the first Karabakh war and  the alleged places of burial.  It is still unknown how many more  Armenians are being held captive by Azerbaijan. According to human  rights activists, there are several hundred of them, including women.