21:40, 26 February 2021

Ilham Aliev: all POWs transferred to Armenia

Ilham Aliev. Photo by the press service of the President of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan has handed over to Armenia all the military personnel captured during the combat actions in Karabakh, and only "saboteurs" remain detained in Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliev announces.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the total number of prisoners of war (POWs) who returned to Armenia reached 63, and to Azerbaijan – 20.

After the parties to the Karabakh conflict signed the peace agreement in November 2020, residents of Armenia appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) to achieve the extradition of the prisoners of war. The European Court received complaints about the violation of the rights of 228 captured residents of Armenia and 13 captured citizens of Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijani side returned all POWs to Armenia, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev reported. "Those who are still being kept in custody are saboteurs. Any possible speculations by Armenia and other countries are inappropriate," said the President of Azerbaijan as quoted by the "Report".

Azerbaijan also handed over to Armenia more than 1000 bodies of dead soldiers, Ilham Aliev noted. The provisions of the peace agreement should be executed despite the political crisis in Armenia, the President of Azerbaijan has added.

Let us remind you that Azerbaijan confirmed the presence of only nine prisoners of war, while up to 150 Armenian soldiers can remain captured, reports Ani Samsonyan, a member of the parliamentary commission on human rights. The Vanadzor Office of the Helsinki Civil Assembly compiled a list of 586 names of soldiers and officers missed in action. The ECtHR obliged Azerbaijan to provide the information concerning 19 prisoners of war and civilians.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 26, 2021 at 12:09 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.