Video from Baku including interviews with Armenian POWs<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
A video of an interview with an Armenian prisoner released in Azerbaijan talks about conditions in Baku prison, daytime activities and opportunities to communicate with family members. In the video, prisoners smile, communicate with each other, and even read books in Armenian.<\/p>\n
Siranush Sahakian, an international law expert and interest representative for Armenian prisoners of war at the European Court of Human Rights, believes they were filmed under duress. She called the video “window dressing” and believes it is clear that “the prisoner’s words lack sincerity and the video was filmed for propaganda purposes.”<\/p>\n
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What do the captured Armenians say?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Armenian prisoners of war in the video are portrayed as saboteurs. The program ends with the words “Karabakh is Azerbaijan.” The prisoners themselves, in an interview with an Azerbaijani journalist, said they “obeyed orders” and “installed barbed wire fences and planted mines”. The 14-minute video features five prisoners. Three were reservists captured in Hotsaverd (in Azerbaijan, the village is called Chaylagala) after the 2020 war, and two were captured in 2021.<\/p>\n
Prisoners say they are treated well.<\/p>\n
“I’m kept normal. No reason to complain. During the day I do a variety of activities, but mainly reading books. Watching TV, listening to music, I listen to the news.”<\/em><\/p>\n
\u201cFor example, when we were taken to court, there was an Azerbaijani man who tied our hands and made sandwiches with his own hands and gave them to us. You probably couldn’t believe it, but now that I’m here and I’ve seen it, I know that the Azerbaijani people are the same as me. There was no.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
\u201cOnce a month, a Red Cross representative brings a letter and we discuss it with the family. Food, drink and hygiene items are provided.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n
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“Aliyev violates the agreement on the release of prisoners of war.”<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Armenian authorities have repeatedly issued similar statements. Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan reiterated this recently.<\/p>\n
“Last April, at a meeting in Brussels, President Aliyev made a promise. [European Council President Charles] Michel releases 10 prisoners. Over a year has passed and the prisoners have not been released. Naturally, the Armenian side always raises this issue. “<\/em><\/p>\n
He stressed that Armenia has been consistent in implementing all agreements and considers this a “issue of honor”.<\/p>\n
“Our international partners should pay close attention to this issue, because in this way it shows how international mechanisms work and how the international community meets its obligations.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n
European Council President Charles Michel raised the issue of “internees” after the Pashinyan Aliyev meeting in Brussels on May 14. “The detainees will be released within a few weeks,” he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI emphasized that we need to understand the soldiers who simply lost their way and defected, and that we will continue to release them promptly.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
However, no information was available on the release of prisoners during this period.<\/p>\n
About two weeks after Michel’s statement, two Armenian soldiers disappeared on the border. The Armenian Defense Ministry reported that Azerbaijan had abducted them and identified them as saboteurs in Baku. Armenian experts call the incident “a special operation organized by Azerbaijan to exchange Armenian troops with Azerbaijanis who entered Armenian territory in early April.” A member of the Azerbaijani army has been accused of killing a local resident.<\/p>\n
Recently, there has been much talk from Baku about Armenians being held captive in Azerbaijan, including two recently captured soldiers. Azerbaijani sources have released information that human rights activist Sabina Aliyeva and members of the Anti-Torture Ombudsman National Prevention Group have visited. According to these reports, Armenian soldiers “did not complain about the conditions of detention and treatment, but expressed gratitude to the Azerbaijani state for the conditions that were provided.”<\/p>\n\n
Siranush Sahakyan <\/strong>“I was not surprised by the propaganda videos released by Baku. It was not the first time,” she said. She believes the prisoners were taken away under pressure and threats of torture.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe video presents Azerbaijan as a philanthropic country and Armenia as a country laying deadly mines. The soldiers who risked the lives of Azerbaijanis by planting mines said they wanted peace for their children.<\/em><\/p>\n
Sahakyan said Baku hopes the video will change the attitude of international bodies, including the Strasbourg Court, but believes the “extremely orderly prison conditions” shown are simply detrimental.<\/p>\n
The lawyer recalled that a report by the Commission against Torture, which works under the auspices of the Council of Europe, showed the real situation of detention in Azerbaijan’s prisons, which was “far from the reality”. are doing.<\/p>\n\n
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