The Number of Armenian Prisoners is Higher than Acknowledged by Azerbaijani Authorities, Ombudsman Office

According to the Office of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, there are currently 62 servicemen from the Republic of Armenia held captive in Azerbaijan, primarily conscripted from Shirak. These individuals are facing ongoing investigative proceedings.

The servicemen are referred to as members of a diversionary group of the Armenian armed forces, with claims made that they were sent to the "Lachin region of Azerbaijan" allegedly to carry out terrorist acts against Azerbaijani military personnel and civilians.

The Armenian Ombudsman emphasizes that criminalizing the issue of Armenian servicemen held captive in Azerbaijan is condemnable, as it grossly violates humanitarian processes and the international requirements guaranteeing human rights during the post-war period. Armenian servicemen qualify as prisoners of war; they remain in captivity solely in the pursuit of fulfilling their legal obligations while performing military service, and they should be released and returned to Armenia unconditionally.

The Ombudsman’s office points out that, based on paragraph 8 of the trilateral statement, the Republic of Armenia has already transferred to Azerbaijan individuals convicted of crimes in Artsakh, including two persons convicted of killing civilians. Azerbaijan, on the same principle, has returned formally convicted Armenians to Armenia. Therefore, this also clearly indicates that delaying the return of the captured Armenian servicemen under the pretext of initiating criminal proceedings is evidently artificial, represents a blatant abuse of judicial processes, and breaches not only international humanitarian law but also contradicts the intentions of the parties that signed the trilateral statement of November 10.

The Ombudsman asserts that the provisions of the trilateral statement of November 10 should apply to all situations that have arisen both before and after the date of the statement, as long as there is an objective necessity for the protection of human rights and humanitarian processes due to the consequences of military operations.

It has already been documented that there have been cases where Azerbaijani armed forces have captured Armenians after the November 10 trilateral statement, yet these individuals have later been returned to Armenia.

The evidence gathered by the Ombudsman’s office confirms that the number of Armenian prisoners is indeed higher than what Azerbaijani authorities have confirmed. The Ombudsman has recorded numerous instances where, despite video and other evidential confirmations, Azerbaijani authorities deny the presence of certain individuals or delay the confirmation process.

The Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia calls upon the United Nations and other international bodies with mandates for human rights protection to pay attention to the issues mentioned in this statement and urges the high authorities of Armenia to consider these circumstances during negotiations.

It was previously announced that the return of captives would be conducted on a “everyone for everyone” basis. Accordingly, on December 14, the Armenian side first transferred to Azerbaijan criminals who were incarcerated since 2014 for murder, espionage, illegal border crossing, illegal possession of military weapons, and kidnapping: Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilham Askerov.

In July 2014, three Azerbaijanis dressed in civilian clothes and armed were apprehended, two of whom, Guliyev and Askerov, were arrested while one was killed. The body of the deceased Azerbaijani was handed over to Azerbaijan by the Armenian side. The Azerbaijanis were responsible for the killing of 17-year-old Smbat Tsakanian and 42-year-old Major Sargis Abrahamyan, and they inflicted injuries on 37-year-old Karine Davtyan.