ECHR Grants Baku Time to Provide Information on Soldiers Captured on November 16

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has granted the official Baku until December 1 to provide information regarding the soldiers captured from the border area of Syunik province since November 16. One of the captured soldiers was returned by Azerbaijan days ago. The Armenian side has suspicions that after the bloody battles, an additional 31 soldiers remain in Azerbaijani captivity.

Applications were sent to the ECHR by the office of the Armenian government’s representative, as well as by human rights defenders Siranush Sahakyan and Artak Zeynalyan. They requested urgent measures to be implemented, seeking information about the recently captured individuals by the Azerbaijani armed forces.

According to the head of the staff of the Armenian government's representative to the ECHR, once Azerbaijan presents comprehensive information, the ECHR will decide on interim measures to protect their rights. Liparit Drmeyan does not rule out that, based on previous experiences, Azerbaijan may either not respond to the European Court or take a long time to submit the requested information.

“The court is currently seeking information about the individuals—how they are being held, their health status, etc. After receiving that information, the court will decide what kind of measures to apply and what instructions to give to Azerbaijan,” Drmeyan stated.

Recently, during an online press conference, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan spoke about 32 prisoners of war but emphasized that this information is still unverified. Since one has already been returned, the Strasbourg court will now focus on the rights of the remaining 31 soldiers, according to Liparit Drmeyan. According to the official, this figure was obtained by cross-referencing various sources.

“Ultimately, it must be understood that accurate information regarding the location of a specific individual can only be obtained from the party that has custody of that individual. This is why this process of applying to the European Court is initiated. In other words, as long as we do not receive a response from the other side regarding the number and condition of the individuals actually in their custody, our conclusions will exclusively be based on the information we possess,” Drmeyan emphasized.

Human rights defender Artak Zeynalyan, in turn, shared with “Liberty” the possible responses they expect from official Baku regarding the four military personnel they presented: “Have these individuals been taken captive or not? Under what conditions are they being held? Have they undergone medical examination and care? The answers to these questions must be documented and presented to the European Court. Also, are they planning to return the captives to the Armenian side?”

Zeynalyan stated that they have managed to identify 27 captured soldiers in the videos circulated on social media. The human rights defender emphasizes that in their applications to the European Court, they have requested that the court ensure the right to life of these individuals. “Ensuring and protecting the right to life also includes their return, their release from Azerbaijani jurisdiction. The lives of these individuals are in danger solely based on their Armenian identity, being citizens of Armenia. We have justified, proven, and reasoned these points, that being under the jurisdiction of Azerbaijani authorities poses a threat to a person’s life if they are ethnically Armenian,” Zeynalyan noted.