Officials of the International Committee of the Red Cross visited Armenian prisoners of war being held captive in Azerbaijan, as well as the two Armenian soldiers who were sentenced to prison terms last week on trumped up charges of terrorism after staging a sham trial.
According to ICRC program manager in Armenia, Zara Amatuni, the meetings took place in late June and early July, presumably before the soldiers, Karen Ashot Ghazaryan and Harutyun Yurik Hovakimyan were sentenced on Friday.
Amatuni noted that during these visits, individual meetings were held with the Armenian POWs, and they were given the opportunity to communicate with their families.
“According to its mandate, the ICRC during its visits evaluates the treatment of detainees and the conditions of detention, as well as contributes to the restoration or continuation of contacts with their families,” Amatuni explained.
Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Anahit Minasyan issued a statement regarding the 11.5-year sentences handed down to Ghazaryan and Hovakimyan, calling the so-called legal proceedings a “gross violation” of human rights.
The two soldiers were abducted by Azerbaijani forces on May 26 when they were on a routine supply run to an Armenian military unit in Syunik. Immediately following their capture, Azerbaijan’s judicial authorities charged them with terrorism.
“These actions are contrary to the Charter of the United Nations, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the requirements of international humanitarian law, including the Third Geneva Convention,” Minasyan, the human rights defender said.
She specifically highlighted that Armenian servicemen illegally kept in Azerbaijan should have the status of Prisoners of War, and their detention, criminal prosecution, and proceedings are gross violations of international humanitarian law.
“These servicemen were taken captive in the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia during an incessant armed conflict. International humanitarian law is warranted in such situations, regardless of the reasons or intensity of the confrontation,” Minasyan added.
“The policy of Armenophobia propagated by the Azerbaijani authorities further confirms the unlawfulness of the criminal proceedings. It is evident that the fundamental rights of the Armenian prisoners of war are endangered in these circumstances,” explained the rights defender.
Minasyan reported that Armenian captives still being held in Azerbaijan are exposed to a constant risk of torture, degrading and inhuman treatment, as evidenced by the information registered by her office.
