Azerbaijan Will Attempt to Delay Legal Processes Regarding Prisoners of War Through Domestic Means: Siranush Sahakyan

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has prioritized the examination of cases related to Armenian prisoners of war, and therefore these cases should be reviewed within a tighter timeframe, said Siranush Sahakyan, a human rights defender and representative of prisoners of war at the ECHR, in an interview with Armenpress.

The defender noted that the Azerbaijani government has officially acknowledged the circumstances of the detention of certain individuals at the ECHR. “The ECHR has summarized the data and, identifying certain issues, has sent additional inquiries to the Azerbaijani government. We are awaiting Azerbaijan's position regarding these questions,” Sahakyan stated.

According to the defender, the status of 62 military personnel in Khzraberd needs clarification. “In our assessment, they are classical prisoners of war; however, we do not rule out that Azerbaijan will resort to speculations and attempt to present them as terrorists and criminals to the international community for a mirror image,” Sahakyan noted.

In the opinion of the ECHR representative for prisoners of war, Armenian citizens will be defended through legal processes, yet Azerbaijan will attempt to delay these processes. “Azerbaijan will try to use domestic measures to prolong the process and show at the European Court that there are ongoing domestic processes, and we must wait for their resolution and provide a new assessment. However, we currently have established practice that no mechanism in Azerbaijan can be considered effective in regard to Armenians due to the state's anti-Armenian policies, which are based on hatred. In this case, we can directly seek international judicial protection,” Sahakyan added, noting that in any case, the legal process will require 1-2 years.

When asked about the number of confirmed cases of prisoners from Azerbaijan through the ECHR, Sahakyan replied, “Regarding the judicial process, I can say that we have 8 persons who have not yet been returned, while extrajudicial confirmations would be better addressed by representatives of the state.”