Azerbaijan hands 20-year jail terms to two more Armenian PoWsAugust 2, 2021 - 14:21 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian prisoners of war Lyudvig Mkrtchyan and Alyosha Khosrovyan were sentenced to 20 years in prison by Azerbaijan on Monday, August 2. In a grave violation of the international humanitarian law, Azerbaijan prosecuted Mkrtchyan and Khosrovyan and accused them of allegedly "torturing Azerbaijanis during the First Karabakh War." According to a decision from the Baku military court, the two will spend the first 10 years in a prison, the rest in a maximum security correctional facility. In July, an Azerbaijan court sentenced 39 Armenian prisoners of war to six years in prison, finding them guilty of "illegally crossing the border and weapons possession." Earlier in July, Azerbaijan sentenced 14 members of Armenia’s armed forces to various jail terms, while Viken Euljekjian, an Armenian captive and a citizen of Lebanon, was handed a 20-year jail term in mid-June. Azerbaijan is refusing to return all Armenian prisoners of war, in violation of the statement on the cessation of hostilities signed by the parties in November 2020. The Armenian side has information about some 200 Armenians still in Azerbaijan’s captivity, but Azeri President Ilham Aliyev claims that persons being kept in Baku are not PoWs, but “terrorists and saboteurs”. At least 19 of the hundreds of Armenian captives have been tortured and killed, according to their lawyers. Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Pashinyan’s spokesperson denies intention to visit Baku for COP29 Pashinyan’s agenda doesn’t include a trip to Baku for the COP29 conference, his press secretary Nazeli Baghdasaryan has said. Russia accuses West of preparing invasion of CSTO countries NATO is preparing an invasion of the CSTO countries, the number of provocations in the air is growing, Sergei Shoigu has said. Lithuania sending €100,000 to help Armenia fight floods consequences Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took to social media to thank his Lithuanian counterpart for the contribution. Armenia: Rescue workers restore pedestrian bridge for flood-hit community Rescue workers on Wednesday, June 5 restored a pedestrian bridge in the town of Alaverdi in Armenia’s north. |