MORE ARMENIAN POWs EXECUTED!

Petition updateRELEASE ALL Armenian POWs and HOSTAGES held illegally in AzerbaijanMORE ARMENIAN POWs EXECUTED!

BritishArmenian.org

Oct 29, 2022

Dear supporter,

Thank you for choosing to support our campaign!

British-Armenian is an independent, non-governmental group of volunteers, with no political affiliation and zero funding from any business, think tank or political party. We have been campaigning for the release of all Armenian hostages since November 2020 via peaceful protests in London, open letters and e-mails to polliticians, world leaders and organizations, meetings with decision makers and Press Releases to highlight the ongoing humanitarian crisis of Armenian hostages mistreated or murdered in captivity, which are horrific war crimes.

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

Thank you for your generosity!

Here is our update of 28 October 2022:

CONTINUOUS WAR CRIMES BY AZERBAIJAN: MORE ARMENIAN POWs EXECUTED!

On the night of 12–13 September 2022, Azerbaijan launched attacks on the soverign Armenian territory, going on to hit at least 23 localities along the Armenian border over the following days, claiming throughout that this was in response to the Armenian ‘provocation’[1].

The tourist city of Jermuk was one of the epicenters of heavy fighting that broke out at several sections of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.The vast majority of its residents, notably children and women, were evacuated or fled their homes on their own amid cross-border artillery fire.

The hostilities broke out on in the middle of the night, with Azerbaijani troops shelling and attacking Armenian army positions at many sections of the long frontier. At least 60 houses and other structures in border settlements in Armenia were destroyed.

This is the worst escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict since the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani war. Azerbaijani troops managed to advance a few kilometers into Armenian territory in the Jermuk area and made far more modest territorial gains at three other border sections. As a reminder, this is Armenia proper, the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia.

According to the Armenian government, at least 135 Armenian soldiers were killed during the fighting largely stopped by a ceasefire agreement late on 15 September 2022․

Before the outrageous attacks on 14 September, the Azerbaijani side returned five Armenian POWs to Armenia. The following people were repatriated on 8 September, 2022 [2]:

· Aghramanian Martin, b. 28.05.1996, from Gyumri,

· Gevorgyan Ashot, b. 30.06.1998, from Gyumri,

· Grigoryan Felix, b. 23.12.1996, from Gyumri,

· Manukyan Varazdat, b. 07.07.1990, from Gyumri,

· Hovsepyan Edik, b. 02.08.1999, from Vanadzor.

The Azerbaijani media reported that the country's Supreme Court "softened the sentences of four Armenian citizens and released them. As a reminder, their trial preceded with human rights’ violations and on very unjust grounds.

On October 4, Azerbaijan released 17 Armenian prisoners of war captured during its most recent large-scale attack on Armenia’s sovereign territory. Armenia’s Defense Ministry said that the release was facilitated by the mediation of the United States [3].

· Mkrtchyan Shahen

· Jilavyan Karen

· Karapetyan Eric

· Karapetyan Sasun

· Hoveyan Mesrop

· Mkhitaryan Vrezh

· Karapetyan David

· Gevorgyan Rafael

· Faroyan Alexan

· Ghubatyan Hrachya

· Gizhlaryan Vahe

· Yeganyan Kajik

· Shahinyan Tigran

· Grigoryan Seryozha

· Yetumyan Vahagn

· Khachatryan Gor

· Sayadyan Henrik

The release of the POWs on Tuesday comes amid an international over a video that was posted on social media in the past week depicting the gruesome execution of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces. Armenia’s defense ministry authenticated the video and the country’s Human Rights Defender, Kristinee Grigoryan, said that her office can verify that the incident took place during the time of the September 13 attack on Armenia.

Up until now, 172 prisoners have been repatriated from Azerbaijan. However, the September 14 situation has changed everything and, alongside 135 servicemen and 2 civilian killed in actions, there are many more newly captured POWs.

Since 14 September 2022, videos have been circulating on the internet, where Armenian prisoners of war can be seen, who are actually under the control of Azerbaijani servicemen. One video, ostensibly filmed by an Azerbaijani soldier, shows a number of bodies of Armenian soldiers, including two women. One of the women has been stripped naked with text written across her breasts and stomach. A stone has been placed in her eye socket and a severed finger in her mouth [4].

This is noted in a statement by the Government of Armenia Representative on International Legal Matters. Yeghishe Kirakosyan informed that on Armenia petitioned to the ECHR, requesting the application of interim measures against Azerbaijan.

"In addition to our request to apply interim measures against Azerbaijan, we have submitted to the European Court an additional request to apply an interim measure for the protection of the fundamental rights of the [Armenian] servicemen seen in the videos," his statement reads [5]. The submitted petitions refer to Azerbaijan’s targeting of civilian settlements in Armenia, as well as the protection of the fundamental rights of the Armenian civilian population and POWs.

More than a dozen Armenian servicemen have been captured as a result of Azerbaijan's recent attack on Armenia. Hasmik Samvelyan, the press secretary of Armenia's representation at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), confirmed this [6].

With almost 40,000 people supporting this campaign across the world, we continue our peaceful fight for the rights of innocent hostages held unlawfully by Azerbaijani regime, and demand from decision makers of the United Nations, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and the Council of Europe and their human rights offices to:

- condemn the Azerbaijani attack and demand the immediate withdrawal of their military forces from the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia;

- resolutely demand from Azerbaijan the immediate release of all ethnic Armenian civilian hostages and POWs in accordance with the Third Geneva Convention on Treatment of Prisoners of War;

- condemn Ilham Aliyev’s family-run dictatorship for the ongoing violation of international laws, human rights and obligations binding all UN member states, thus destabilizing wider regional peace.

Thank you for your commitment to justice and human rights and for your support to this campaign! We are aiming to reach 50.000 signatures, so please kindly share the petition link once a while with your friends and groups on social media!

Our mission is not yet fulfilled; we are not stopping #UntilTheyAreHome,

Members of the British-Armenian humanitarian group

E-mail: info@britisharmenian.org

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[1] https://oc-media.org/features/explainer-what-happened-in-armenia-and-azerbaijan-on-13-14-september/

[2] https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32024760.html

[3] https://asbarez.com/baku-releases-17-pows-through-u-s-mediation/