EU urges Azerbaijan to return Armenian POWs, provide info about them

PanARMENIAN.Net - The European Union on Wednesday, April 28 released a statement urging Azerbaijan to return all the remaining prisoners of war to Armenia and provide information about them, requested by the European Court on Human Rights.

Welcoming the ceasefire in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), the EU nevertheless maintained that renewed efforts are necessary to build confidence between both countries and make progress towards sustainable peace.

"This includes refraining from hostile and offensive rhetoric, finalizing, as soon as possible, the return of all remaining prisoners of war and detained persons, regardless of the circumstances of their arrest, and cooperating also on other important issues such as demining," the EU said.

"In this context, following the recent notification by the European Court of Human Rights to the Committee of Ministers regarding the interim measures indicated under Rule 39 of the Rules of the Court in relation to the recent armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, we stress that the Court’s case law has clearly established that States Parties to the European Convention on Human Rights are under an obligation to comply with interim measures and we call on Azerbaijan to provide the outstanding information requested by the Court."

Several dozen Armenian POWs have returned from Azerbaijan so far, although Armenian officials say many more people were being held in Baku. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev claims, however, that persons being kept in Baku are not prisoners of war but “terrorists and saboteurs”. Officials and human rights advocates from the Armenian side say, however, that Azerbaijan is still holding hundreds of people hostage, pledging to submit evidence proving the capture of said persons to international agencies and courts.