MEPs urge Azerbaijan to release Armenian captives  

Members of the European Parliament have issued a call on Azerbaijan, urging that country's political leadership to take action towards the immediate release of Armenian captives.

In their statement on March 23, the Chair of the Delegation for relations with the South Caucasus, MEP Marina Kaljurand, the European Parliament's Standing Rapporteur on Armenia, MEP Andrey KOVATCHEV, and the European Parliament's Standing Rapporteur on Azerbaijan, MEP Željana ZOVKO also expressed grave concern over allegations of abuse reported by the Human Rights Watch.

“We are gravely concerned by numerous allegations of abuse of Armenian captives by Azerbaijan, as documented in particular in a recent Human Rights Watch report. We urge the Azerbaijani authorities to investigate all such allegations and to bring those responsible to justice. Full respect of international humanitarian law and the prohibition of torture and other degrading or inhuman treatment must be ensured.

"We also deplore the fact that the Azerbaijani government has failed to comply with the interim measures of the European Court of Human Rights which ordered Azerbaijan to provide information on the conditions of detention of the detainees, their state of health, as well as the measures taken to return them.

"Once again, we call on Azerbaijan to release without delay all remaining Armenian detainees, in line with the provisions of the ceasefire agreement of 9 November 2020, ” they said.