The Armenian Government Must Release the Number of Captives, Ombudsman Says

The rule of law implies a presumption in favor of public disclosure of any data of public significance. When refusing to publish any data, the state must demonstrate what legal interest it pursues by doing so. The state's refusal decision must be justified. This was stated by the Ombudsman.

In response to the Armenian captives held in Azerbaijan, the Armenian government justified its decision not to publish numerical data yesterday by merely noting that the issue has a "highly sensitive nature." This approach is unacceptable.

In reality, publishing the number of Armenian captives held in Azerbaijan would at least create the opportunity to significantly increase international pressure on Azerbaijan regarding the release and return of these prisoners, provide grounds for imposing additional obligations on Azerbaijan, enhance the level of protection for captives held in Azerbaijan, publicly emphasize the state's respect for the rights of captives and their families, highlight the state's responsible attitude toward this public issue, and finally, this step by the state would eliminate or significantly reduce any attempts by third parties to mislead the public with false information and therefore exploit the situation.

Therefore, the competent authority of the Republic of Armenia must publish the number of Armenian captives who, according to the available data or its conviction, are currently being held captive in Azerbaijan.