'Prisoners of War Should Not Be Objects of Public Interest': Ombudsman

As previously reported, the Azerbaijani AzTV has released a video informing about interviews conducted with the former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh unlawfully held in a Baku prison. Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan has addressed the dissemination of a video by Azerbaijani media involving Armenian prisoners of war.

"One of Azerbaijan's public television channels broadcast a video on June 5 that discussed Armenian prisoners of war. In the report, an Azerbaijani journalist speaks with five Armenian prisoners of war. Prisoners of war should not be turned into objects of public interest; such actions are directly prohibited by Article 13 of the Third Geneva Convention. The prohibition serves two main purposes: to honor the dignity of the prisoner of war and to protect them from any violation during and after captivity.

Prisoners of war, being in conditions of captivity, cannot freely provide and present their consent concerning the filming and broadcasting or dissemination of videos involving them. The publication of data concerning prisoners of war and their dissemination on social media results in them being targeted additionally by the public, as evidenced by the negative comments from Azerbaijani users regarding the video.

The Ombudsman calls on the Armenian media community to refrain from sharing videos sourced from Azerbaijani outlets concerning Armenian prisoners of war in order to keep them free from public interest. A more detailed legal opinion on this issue has been sent to international partners, as well as international organizations with a mandate to protect human rights," stated the Ombudsman's announcement.