Hay Dat launched petition: Defend  the rights of Armenian hostages in Baku

ArmInfo. Hay Dat Central Office, the ARF Dashnaktsutyun Bureau has sent a petition to high-ranking OSCE officials demanding the release of Armenian prisoners  in Azerbaijan.  As noted in the statement of the office, in light of the escalating repression of the rights and freedoms of political opponents,  independent and foreign media, as well as the grave  violations of international human rights law and humanitarian law in Azerbaijan, the OSCE participating States that uphold human rights principles can no longer  remain passive. In this regard, the statement notes that numerous UN bodies, parliamentary assemblies, and European Parliament resolutions have called for action.

"It seems particularly urgent to establish a commission of experts to investigate and report on the concerns identified as severe violations  of the OSCE human dimension commitments by the Republic of Azerbaijan.  Priority should be given to the conditions of arrest, detention and trial of political opponents and political prisoners in genera,, as well as to practices targeting prisoners of Armenian origin from Artsakh. These practices reflect a policy of hatred and  racial discrimination that is incompatible with the idea of peace," the Hay Dat statement says.

At the same time, it is emphasized that the relevant OSCE mission should assess Azerbaijan's legal and administrative practices, considering its commitments  to the OSCE, establish the facts and issue recommendations. "To this end, we  request Your Excellency's  decisive action through the  Permanent Council, the Human Dimension Committee and  the mobilization of OSCE participating States to invoke paragraph 12 of the 1991Moscow Document of the OSCE Conference on the Human Dimension , as was done in the context of a recent conflict ( Ukraine/Russia) or a similar situation in Belarus," the statement emphasizes. According to the source, the central office of the Hay Dat Bureau of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun has  launched a platform in six languages to facilitate the release of Armenian hostages held by Azerbaijan/ Through this platform, individuals can contact senior OSCE officials.