Evidence of Torture of Armenian Prisoners Held in Azerbaijan Presented to PACE Rapporteurs

The issue of the immediate release of Armenian prisoners of war and captives held in Azerbaijan was raised by Minister of Justice Karen Andreasian on November 4 during a meeting with Kimmo Kiljunen and Boriana Aberg, the PACE rapporteurs on Armenia, from the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. This information was reported by the Information and Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia.

The Minister expressed gratitude for the resolution adopted by the PACE on September 27, 2021, regarding the humanitarian consequences of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and informed the rapporteurs about torture and cruel treatment of Armenian captives and civilians held in Azerbaijan, incidents that have also been documented by international organizations. In particular, the monitoring team was presented with established factual information from investigations and testimonies of survivors regarding torture, other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, extrajudicial killings, as well as other gross violations of norms of international humanitarian law perpetrated by the Azerbaijani armed forces against Armenian prisoners of war and detained civilians.

Among other issues, the meeting also addressed ongoing reforms in the justice sector aimed at strengthening the independence of the judicial system, assessing the integrity of the judiciary, improving freedom of speech, the process of constitutional reforms, and enhancing mechanisms for checks and balances among the three branches of power, among others.