Dear supporter,
Thank you for actively choosing to support our campaign!
British-Armenian is an independent, non-governmental group of ordinary citizens, with no political affiliation and zero funding from any business, think tank or political forces. We have been campaigning for the release of all Armenian hostages for over a year via letters and e-mails, peaceful protests, meetings with decision makers and other ways to highlight the ongoing humanitarian crisis of Armenian hostages mistreated or murdered in captivity.
To continue our fight for the rights of Armenian captives, public support and donations are vital. We have created an official fundraiser and highly encourage you to donate: https://bit.ly/3D2gPBK
If you are unable to donate, consider sharing the donation and petition links with others.
Thank you for your generosity!
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On 16 November Azerbaijani forces have actively invaded sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia and are continuing to take new hostages. Armenia’s Defense Ministry announced that six soldiers of the Armed Forces were killed in action during Azerbaijan’s attack on Armenia’s eastern border on 16 November 2021. The fallen soldiers are: Senior Lieutenant Taron Sahakyan (born 1990), Junior Sergeant Meruzhan Harutyunyan (born 1991), Private Gurgen Sargsyan (born 1990), Junior Sergeant Artur Martirosyan (born 1998) and Private Davit Amiryan (born 1980) [1].
On17 November 2021, the tortured body of Lieutenant Taron Sahakyan (on the photo), was transferred from Baku to Armenia [2]. Through the mediation of the Russian peacekeeping forces stationed in occupied Shushi, Azerbaijan later released the remains of three Armenian soldiers killed during the attack [3].
As a result of this attack, the Azerbaijani side has captured 13 Armenian soldiers, and the fate of 24 servicemen remains unknown. On November 23, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan mentioned that the number of captives was 32 [4].
On 26 November, the State Commission on Missing Persons of Azerbaijan reports that Baku had handed over to the Armenian side two citizens, including a 28-year-old soldier Arin Aramyan, captured on November 16, and 21-year-old civilian Mihran Musayelyan, who found himself in the territory under the control of Azerbaijani soldiers [5].
On 3 December 2021, Azerbaijani forces captured and killed a 65-year-old Artsakh resident, who had accidentally veered into occupied Azerbaijani territory while shepherding his cattle. Seyran Smbat Sargsyan (b. 1956), a resident of the Chartar village in the Martuni region of Artsakh was shot when he wandered into territory now under the control of Azerbaijani forces, the Artsakh foreign ministry reported [6].
116 Armenian POWs and other detainees have been repatriated from Azerbaijan since the end of hostilities in and around Nagorno-Karabakh in November 2020. Scores, however, continue to be held by Azerbaijan despite a ceasefire provision calling for the return of all captives and hostages.
· At least 40 hostages, including women, have been tortured to death in the Azerbaijani detention, only because of their ethnic background;
· Trials of 58 innocent Armenian captives were held in Baku’s Court of Grave Crimes, without adequate legal representation;
· Over 200 Armenian POWs and civilian captives are still illegally held by Aliyev’s regime, which refuses to confirm their exact number (alive or dead);
Azerbaijan is openly pursuing the ethnic cleansing of indigenous Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh and has invaded the sovereign Republic of Armenia since 12 May 2021.
With this petition nearly reaching 34.000 signatures, we demand from the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, decision makers of the United Nations and the Council of Europe to:
· ensure the release of all civilian captives and POWs held illegally by the Azerbaijani authorities;
· ensure the urgent access of international bodies, including the Red Cross, to all Armenian POWs to supply their families with full accounts on their health and detention conditions;
· verify the number of Armenian POWs and captives by providing access to the full list of all detainees (alive or dead);
· condemn Aliyev’s regime for continuous contempt of international laws and obligations of the United Nations member states.
With news rarely featuring stories about the ongoing POW crisis, we consider it our duty to never cease our updates about them. Our mission is not yet fulfilled; we are not stopping #UntilTheyAreHome
Thank you for signing and sharing this petition!
British Armenian humanitarian group
For questions and additional info about our fundraiser, visit our social media pages:
E-mail: info@britisharmenian.org
Twitter: twitter.com/arm_brit
Facebook: facebook.com/BritishArmenian
Instagram: instagram.com/british_armenian
Support our fundraising initiative here: https://gofund.me/2da11309
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[1] https://www.mil.am/hy/news/10121
[2] https://www.mil.am/hy/news/10125
[3] https://asbarez.com/yerevan-says-6-soldiers-were-killed-during-azerbaijans-attack-on-armenia/
[4] https://www.azatutyun.am/a/31589938.html
[5] https://www.azatutyun.am/a/31579984.html
[6] https://asbarez.com/azerbaijani-forces-capture-and-kill-65-year-old-artsakh-resident/