Dear supporter,
Thank you for supporting our cause and taking the time to sign this petition! We are approaching 35.000 signatures, thus becoming one of the top Petitions on change.org!
Let’s start with some good news! On 12 June 2021, 15 Armenian POW’s were returned to Armenia in exchange for a map detailing the location of landmines in Agdam. The deal was mediated by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili. [1]. Prior to this development, the last time Armenian POW’s were returned from illegal captivity in Azerbaijan was on 4 May, 2021. This included servicemen Robert Vardanyan (19), Samvel Shukhyan (22) and civilian Seyran Tamrazyan (46). Following medical examination, Vardanyan and Tamrazyan are in critical condition and remain hospitalized while Shukhyan is recovering at home [2].
Unfortunately, the rest of our update contains further distressing evidence of violations of international law and human rights by Azerbaijani authorities. On May 12 under the pretense of ‘border demarcation’ [3], Azerbaijani military units crossed the Armenian state border attempting to seize areas in the provinces of Syunik and Gegharkunik [4]. Negotiations for their withdrawal have been futile, and the situation remains fragile as the Azerbaijani military has not withdrawn its troops from the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia and continues to create a tense and unstable situation. One Armenian serviceman has since been killed by Azerbaijani fire on the 25th of May, 2021 [5].
Furthermore, on 27 May, six Armenian soldiers were captured by Azerbaijani forces while conducting engineering works in the province of Gegharkunik. Although they were within sovereign Armenian territory, they were still taken hostage. [6]. On the 5th of June 2021, the ICRC representatives in Baku visited the six Armenian soldiers, which are now illegally held as POWs.
Another serviceman, A. Katanyan, who lost his bearings due to fog, found himself in areas currently under the control of Azerbaijani forces. Although he was captured by the Azerbaijani military on 8 June 2021 [7], he has since been returned to Armenia [8].
The European Court of Human Rights, in response to Armenia’s application regarding the capture of the six Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijan, upheld an earlier ruling by which it mandated compliance with international mechanisms for the protection of persons captured during armed conflict. Baku requested to lift those interim measures, but fortunately the ECHR rejected this request [9]. The Court also revealed that Azerbaijan had provided medical information about the recent captives and had presented its indictments to the European body.
Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan has noted that the recent trials of Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan constitute a gross violation of international law, referring to the hearings against Armenian captives Ludvik Mkrtchyan, Alyosha Khosrovyan and Lebanese-Armenian Vicken Euljekjian [10]. Ludwig Mkrtchyan and Alyosha Khosrovyan are accused of torturing Azerbaijani prisoners in the 1990s, during the first Karabakh war.
Armenian-Lebanese Vicken Euljekian and his fiancée Maral Najarian - simply returning to Shushi to pick up his personal belongings from his hotel - were captured near Shushi and taken as prisoners of war on 10 November 2020. Maral Najarian was released after four months of illegal imprisonment. If you remember, we campaigned for Maral’s release for several months, and we were thrilled for her release on 10 March.
Vicken Euljekjian continues to be held in Baku prison under ungrounded chrges. On 11 June 2021 Vicken was charged under Article 114.3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan (participation of a mercenary in a military conflict or military operation), 214.2.1 (when terrorism is committed by a group of persons upon prior conspiracy, an organized group or a criminal organization), 318.2 (illegal crossing of the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan) and other articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan which leads to a 20 year prison sentence. [11]
On 3 June 2021, the media in Azerbaijan reported that 14 other cases of Armenian POW’s have been transferred to the ‘Baku Court of Serious Crimes’. These refer to servicemen who were captured near the village of Khtsaberd in Artsakh. According to the prosecutor’s office of Azerbaijan, these Armenian soldiers are charged with terrorism and illegal border crossing [12].
Azerbaijan continues to conceal the actual number of Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives as it attempts to politicize this humanitarian issue.
Once again, thank you for signing and sharing the petition. We will continue keeping you up to date.
Our mission is not yet fulfilled; we continue our fight together with you!
#UntilTheyAreHome #FreeVcken #ArmenianPOWs
British Armenian group
E-mail: info@britisharmenian.org
Twitter: twitter.com/arm_brit
Facebook: facebook.com/BritishArmenian
[1]https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210612-azerbaijan-releases-15-armenian-pows
[3] https://www.azatutyun.am/a/31253849.html
[4] https://mil.am/hy/news/9390 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaTknrIqO9A
[5] https://armenianweekly.com/2021/05/26/armenian-soldier-killed-by-azerbaijani-forces/
[6] https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1054517.html
[7]https://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/293457/Armenian_soldier_captured_by_Azerbaijan_released
[8] https://www.mil.am/en/news/9518