‘Condemnable’: The Issue of Returning Prisoners in Azerbaijan is Being Politicized

On February 26, 2021, the President of Azerbaijan stated: “We carried out anti-terrorist actions, resulting in the arrest of more than 60 terrorists. They are now referred to as prisoners of war. We believe this is a distortion of the issue since there cannot be prisoners of war 20 days after the end of the conflict. We have returned all prisoners of war before they returned our captives. These individuals are not prisoners of war; they are terrorists and saboteurs.”

The Human Rights Defender of Armenia issued a statement regarding the above, reiterating that all servicemen and civilians held by Azerbaijan should be classified as prisoners of war.

“All servicemen were in Artsakh to fulfill their constitutional duties, and they were performing military legal service there. The evidence collected by the Human Rights Defender's office confirms that the number of captured individuals is higher than what the Azerbaijani authorities have acknowledged. This also pertains to the return of a group of 44 prisoners,” stated the Human Rights Defender.

Moreover, numerous instances have been documented where, despite video and other evidence confirming these cases, Azerbaijani authorities deny the existence of individuals in their custody or delay the process of confirmation.

Initiating criminal proceedings against Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan, imprisoning them, and especially referring to them as “terrorists” or “saboteurs” constitutes gross violations of international humanitarian law and human rights. They cannot be subjected to any form of criminal prosecution or imprisonment as punishment for performing their military legal service. This assertion particularly stems from the requirements of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949.

Azerbaijani authorities initially artificially delayed the return of Armenian prisoners of war and subsequently began to distort and abuse legal processes, directly stating that only “terrorists and saboteurs” are held in Azerbaijan. Such treatment is prohibited by international humanitarian law and evidently contains elements of war crimes.

The Human Rights Defender of Armenia also finds it necessary to emphasize that in the post-war process, issues of human rights or humanitarian concerns, including the release and return of prisoners, must be ensured immediately after the cessation of military operations, and they should be kept free from political processes. This prohibition applies in every case under international law, irrespective of the specific documents concerning the relevant conflicts.

It is absolutely unacceptable to claim that there cannot be prisoners of war 20 days after the end of the conflict, thus labeling them as “saboteurs” or “terrorists.”

It is unacceptable to interpret the trilateral declaration of November 9 as applying only to the situation that existed before the signing of that declaration. Both before and after November 9, we are dealing with an ongoing (unresolved) armed conflict; this rule directly arises from the requirements of international humanitarian law.

Furthermore, the President of Azerbaijan’s statement directly contradicts the intentions of the parties that signed the November 9 trilateral declaration and the practical application of that declaration. Specifically, based on the requirement of point 8 of that declaration, the Republic of Armenia has already transferred to Azerbaijan individuals charged and convicted of crimes in Artsakh, including the murder of peaceful residents. Azerbaijan, similarly, has transferred Armenians formally convicted in that country to Armenia.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have also exchanged individuals captured after the November 9 trilateral declaration. Therefore, the mentioned declaration should apply to all situations both before and after November 9, as long as there is an objective necessity for the protection of human rights and the humanitarian process due to the consequences of military operations.

Thus, it is fundamentally unacceptable to condition the existence of prisoners solely on the date of the trilateral declaration. Once again, I emphasize that, regardless of the date of capture, all servicemen and civilians of the Armenian side held in Azerbaijan are classified as prisoners of war.

The absolute urgency of the issue of releasing prisoners should also be viewed in the context of Azerbaijan's policy of hatred against Armenians, which has been repeatedly confirmed by reports published by the Human Rights Defender of Armenia based on objective evidence.

Thus, it is unequivocally condemnable that the issue of the release and return of Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan is being clearly politicized, and the legal processes are being distorted and abused. All of this grossly violates the international requirements that guarantee humanitarian processes and human rights. Therefore, they must be released unconditionally and returned safely to Armenia.

Hence, I urge the international community and especially the international institutions tasked with the protection of human rights to pay attention to the Azerbaijani President’s statement to prevent any violations of humanitarian processes and to ensure strict compliance of this process with international human rights requirements,” the statement of the RA Human Rights Defender reads.