VIDEO: Azerbaijani Authorities Are Trying to Legitimize Those Trials, Ombudsman Says

The trials conducted by the Azerbaijani authorities are artificial and serve as a “facade” for the international community. This was stated by Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan during a video conference, addressing the trial of Armenian prisoners of war in Baku.

“Their aim is to make the issue of prisoners a subject of political bargaining, and the best evidence of this is the video footage of the conversation between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey, as well as the First Lady of Turkey. I must say that this angle has gained widespread attention in the international community,” the Ombudsman noted.

According to Tatoyan, Azerbaijani authorities are now doing everything possible to legitimize these trials.

“There have been extensive discussions relating to the process of exchanging prisoners with the leading bodies of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. Yes, humanitarian issues have always been prioritized by Armenia and Artsakh, but we must not allow the international community to develop an approach suggesting that the process is taking place in stages, and if nothing is solved in a month, let it be resolved in six months. The key issue here is that we must never allow the Azerbaijani authorities to link the question of prisoners to political issues,” he emphasized.

For more details, watch the video.