UPDATE OF 14 JANUARY 2022
Dear supporter,
May we take this opportunity to wish all of our supporters a healthy and peaceful 2022! May this be the year that all Armenian hostages and POWs safely return to their families. Meanwhile, British-Armenian will continue to campaign for their rights.
In the spirit of generosity, we are urged to remind you that 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 January 13, 2022, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published the 2022 country report on Armenia, which has also touched upon the sensitive issue of POWs. The article notes: “Armenian prisoners continued to be detained and prosecuted by Azerbaijan. In September 2021, the Armenian Ombudsman’s Office stated that at least 41 prisoners of war and 4 civilian detainees remain in Azerbaijani custody. Numerous Armenian POWs were subjected to cruel and degrading treatment and torture by Azerbaijani forces either when they were captured, during their transfer, or while in custody at various detention facilities [1].
On January 12, the Azerbaijani forces launched a massive attack on Armenian positions near the village of Verin Shorzha in the Gegharkunik Province, killing three soldiers. Three Armenian soldiers were also injured [2].
On January 10, the Sabunchi district court continued the trial of Armenian POWs Ishkhan Sargsyan and Vladimir Rafayelyan. Sargsyan and Raphaelyan are charged with terrorism, illegal border crossings, subversive diversions and illegal smuggling of firearms. The trial is ongoing and a new court session has already been announced [3].
On December 29, 2021, Azerbaijan returned five Armenian POWs to Armenia through the mediation of the Hungarian government, reported Armenia’s Foreign spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan. The prisoners of war who returned to Armenia are Sargis Abrahamyan, Arman Khachatryan, Vahe Aghajanyan, Suren Khachatryan, Aram Avetyan [4].
On December 19, 2021, 10 Armenian captives were repatriated through the mediation of the European Union. The State Commission on Prisoners of War, Missing Persons and Hostages of Azerbaijan announced that Hrachik Galstyan, Mkrtich Dilanyan, Gagik Harutyunyan, Radik Poghosyan, Andranik Ghevondyan, Artur Nazaryan, Marat Shahinyan, Petrosyan Sevak, Karlen Stepanyan, Hayk Vasilyan were all taken prisoner during the November 16 battles [5].
So far, 131 Armenian POWs and other detainees have been repatriated from Azerbaijan since the end of hostilities in and around Nagorno-Karabakh.
· 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.
We continue to urge international organizations, human rights’ organizations, independent lawyers to help us in the fight for POWs’ rights. Our mission is not yet fulfilled #UntilTheyAreHome
Thank you for continuing to sign and share 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.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/armenia
[2] https://asbarez.com/military-revises-death-toll-from-tuesdays-attack-on-gegharkunik-to-3/
[3] https://www.trend.az/azerbaijan/society/3539071.html
[4] https://asbarez.com/5-pows-returned-to-armenia/
[5] https://asbarez.com/5-pows-returned-to-armenia/