Baku Initiates Fictitious Criminal Case Against 14 Armenian POWs

The Office of the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan and the State Security Service have issued a joint statement regarding the Armenian prisoners of war held in the country.

According to Azerbaijani news reports, the released announcement states that the preliminary investigation of fictitious criminal cases against 14 Armenian prisoners of war has been completed, who allegedly committed terrorist and other criminal acts on Azerbaijani territory. The case has been forwarded to the court.

The remarks pertain to the reserve soldiers from Shirak, captured after the ceasefire declaration following the 44-day war.

Human rights defenders note that the criminalization of Armenian servicemen is a gross violation of humanitarian processes and international legal requirements that guarantee human rights in the post-war phase.

The Armenian servicemen are legally prisoners of war; they were in captivity solely for fulfilling their legal duty of military service, and they must be released and returned to Armenia without any preconditions.

It is noteworthy that the European Union, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, the co-chairpersons of the OSCE Minsk Group, international human rights organizations, and numerous prominent figures have called on Azerbaijan to release all prisoners of war immediately and unconditionally.