A special discussion of the European Parliament on the issue of the immediate release and return of Armenian captives from Azerbaijan will be held on Monday, April 12 evening, Armenian Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan has said in a Facebook post.

Among speakers set to deliver remarks are MEP Loukas Fourlas, who chairs the EU-Armenia friendship group at the European Parliament, as well as Chair of the delegation for relations with the South Caucasus at the European Parliament Marina Kaljurand, Tatoyan himself and Heghine Evinyan, the Executive Director, EAFJD - European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy.

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, however, maintain Azerbaijan is still holding hundreds of people hostage, pledging to submit evidence proving the capture of said persons to international agencies and courts.