Armenia MP wants CoE to ensure safety of 62 captives in Azerbaijan

PanARMENIAN.Net - Lawmaker Nazeli Baghdasaryan has appealed to the Committee for the Prevention of Torture of the Council of Europe to ensure the life and health of 62 Armenian captives is protected in Azerbaijan, the MP said in a Facebook post on Thursday, January 7.

The move came after Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that Armenians captured by Azeri troops after the completion of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh are not prisoners of war but "terrorists".

In a letter sent to Mykola Gnatovskyy, the President of the Committee, Baghdasaryan has called on the agency to take the necessary measures and, if possible, to pay an ad hoc visit and monitor the situation in places of detention.

According to her, under international humanitarian law persons detained after the completion of military hostilities have the right to life, physical and mental health. The lawmaker noted that the captives must enjoy protection in all circumstances and be treated humanely without discrimination. The right to correspond with family members must be guaranteed, Baghdasaryan added.

The European Court of Human Rights earlier approved an interim measure requested by Armenia against Azerbaijan on behalf of dozens of servicemen captured by Azeri troops in Karabakh.