Ombudsman: Baku's trial of Armenian captives violates int'l law

PanARMENIAN.Net - Trials of Armenian captives are ongoing in Azerbaijan with gross violations of international law, Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan said in a statement .

Baku has launched criminal prosecution against Lyudvik Mkrtchyan, Alyosha Khosrovyan, Viken Euljekian and a dozen others. Court hearings with gross violations of the rights of the three captives and of international law are taking place in the Azerbaijani capital.

They are charged with alleged participation of a mercenary in a military conflict or military operation, terrorism committed by a group of persons, an organized group or a criminal organization, illegal crossing of the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

"All servicemen and civilians of the Armenian side detained in Azerbaijan are captives. Therefore, any kind of persecution or trial against any of them is a gross violation of international law, and their detention is prohibited. These rules are directly derived from the requirements of international humanitarian law," Tatoyan said in his statement.

The Human Rights Defender drew the attention of the international community to the facts of the continuing gross human rights violations of the Azerbaijani authorities, the policy of violating international humanitarian demands.