CoE Commissioner seeks visit to Baku over Armenian captives

PanARMENIAN.Net - Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty considers the situation of Armenian captives held in Azerbaijan a top priority and is closely monitoring their conditions and the hardships they endure.

He addressed this issue during the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in response to a question from Armenian delegate Armen Gevorgyan about the status of Armenians detained in Baku.

“I am in discussions with the Azerbaijani government to arrange a visit to Baku. This takes time from both sides,” O’Flaherty stated, as reported by Armenpress.

According to him, he has already submitted two formal requests to the Azerbaijani authorities for permission to enter the country.

“I will apply a third, even a fourth time. I definitely want to visit the country and engage with human rights matters directly on its territory,” he emphasized.

Gevorgyan reminded that a few weeks ago, he had shared with O’Flaherty a statement from a prominent American lawyer, who is acting as international counsel for Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian detainee held in Baku. The lawyer described the horrific conditions under which Armenian prisoners of war have been held in the Azerbaijani capital.

U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz has said he told Hikmet Hajiyev, advisor to the Azerbaijani president, that captives should be released and the peace agreement with Armenia finalized.

Ruben Vardanyan’s lawyer Jared Genser urged Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan to review the statements by former U.S. President Donald Trump and Advisor Mike Waltz carefully.