Statement on "The aggression of Azerbaijan against Artsakh and Armenia with the direct involvement of Turkey and foreign terrorist fighters" as delivered by Ambassador Armen Papikyan at the 1321st meeting of the Permanent Council

24 June, 2021

Madam Chairperson,

The trilateral ceasefire statement signed between the leaders of the Russian Federation, Armenia and Azerbaijan on 9 November 2020 put an end to the fighting and the war of aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh with the direct and active involvement of Turkey and Turkish‑backed foreign terrorist fighters. However, Azerbaijan continues its gross violation of, among other key provisions of the trilateral statement, paragraph 8 on the exchange of prisoners of war, hostages and other detained persons.

For its part, Armenia has fulfilled all of its obligations both under the trilateral statement on ceasefire and under international humanitarian law. Moreover, Armenia has shown gestures of goodwill, such as the release of two Azerbaijani servicemen who were recently detained on the territory of the Republic of Armenia. Another twelve Azerbaijani servicemen were released after the well-known incursion by Azerbaijani armed forces into the sovereign territory of Armenia on 12 May, which took place in the province of Syunik. Therefore, we reiterate once again that generalized calls addressed to both Azerbaijan and Armenia to release all prisoners of war are unjustified and provide Azerbaijan with an opportunity to evade its commitments and obligations. We call on our partners to stop the unjust and misleading practice of spreading the blame indiscriminately and laying it on Armenia as well.

Madam Chairperson,

As we have noted on numerous occasions, on 11 December 2020, just a month after the signing of the ceasefire declaration, the Azerbaijani armed forces, in flagrant violation of Azerbaijan’s commitments under the trilateral statement, attacked the positions of the Armenian self-defence forces in the area of the villages of Hin Tagher and Khtsaberd of the Hadrut region of Artsakh, occupying the two villages and adjacent territories. We have already expressed our readiness to share with all interested delegations the maps released by the peacekeepers on 13 and 14 December 2020, which clearly confirm the violation of the ceasefire and the occupation of the two villages by Azerbaijan. The maps also confirm that the Armenian forces were in the positions they held at the time of the signing of the trilateral statement, thereby dispelling the false Azerbaijani propaganda about so‑called sabotage groups. However, this did not prevent Azerbaijan, not least on account of the lack of a clear assessment of what happened, from presenting the 64 Armenian servicemen as “terrorists” and prosecuting them on trumped-up charges and on the basis of confessions obtained under duress, which is a clear and serious violation of international humanitarian law. In particular, as Article 118 of the III Geneva Convention stipulates, “Prisoners of war shall be released and repatriated without delay after the cessation of active hostilities.”

Dear colleagues,

I would like to draw your attention to a video posted in the Azerbaijani segment of social media that was made during the recent joint visit of the presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan to the occupied and ethnically cleansed city of Shushi. The video attests to the fact that the Azerbaijani regime is illegally detaining the Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives as hostages with a view to using them in political bargaining. It also confirms the false and fabricated nature of the mock trials of the Armenian prisoners of war. In this video, during a conversation between the President of Azerbaijan and the First Lady of Turkey, the latter advises the Azerbaijani president to release the Armenian prisoners of war in stages, in exchange for Armenian fulfilment of Azerbaijani requirements. This latest episode confirms once again that the mock trials staged by Baku are only intended to prolong the illegal detention of the Armenian prisoners of war and their exploitation as hostages and bargaining chips for Baku.

Despite the repeated calls from the international community, the Azerbaijani authorities continue their cynical manipulations with regard to the Armenian prisoners of war without any consequences and in an atmosphere of complete impunity. As of today, illegal criminal cases have been initiated in Azerbaijan against 56 Armenian prisoners of war, 53 of whom were captured during the occupation of the villages of Hin Tager and Khtsaberd mentioned earlier, two of them, Mr. Ludwig Mkrtchyan and Mr. Alyosha Khosrovyan, being reservists, and another one, Mr. Vicken Euljekjian, being a civilian with dual Lebanese and Armenian citizenship. According to Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention, on the treatment of prisoners of war, the aforementioned persons are indisputably prisoners of war and they must enjoy all the rights arising from their status as prisoners of war, in accordance with the Convention and customary international law.

Another mock trial of 14 Armenian prisoners of war started in a Baku court last week. Trumped‑up criminal charges were brought against the Armenian prisoners of war Gegham Serobyan, Hrach Avagyan, Armen Baghasyan, Gor Gasparyan, Kamo Sefilyan, Volodya Hakobyan, Gevorg Asertyan, Sisak Yenokyan, Albert Petrosyan, Romik Sedrakyan, Aram Minasyan, Mkrtich Minasyan, Edgar Matesyan and Turi Karapetyan.

A further mock trial of 13 other Armenian prisoners of war on trumped‑up charges is also in progress at present.

Moreover, Baku is currently actively engaged in hunting for foreign nationals sympathetic to Armenia or Artsakh with a view to accusing them of terrorism and mercenarism, fabricating criminal cases and organizing show trials. With such tactics, Azerbaijan is obviously trying to create the impression that Armenia was also engaged in the recruitment of terrorists and mercenaries, like Azerbaijan and Turkey. In addition to the aforementioned case of Mr. Vicken Euljekjian, similar charges were also brought against Mr. Eduard Dubakov, who is a Russian citizen.

Established customary international humanitarian law has long since as a matter of principle prohibited the prosecution of prisoners of war for participation in hostilities and for their actions during those hostilities. Not only is the trial of 56 Armenian prisoners of war illegal in itself, constituting a flagrant violation of international law, but all of the above individuals were charged with serious crimes, including terrorism and illegal border-crossing. In addition, it should be noted that the trials of the Armenian prisoners of war are held behind closed doors and none of them is represented by a lawyer of their choice, which precludes the possibility of a fair trial.

Madam Chairperson,

We have repeatedly stressed that the Armenian prisoners of war are clearly deprived of their right to a fair trial. They are also subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as is evidenced in particular by a number of video and photo materials disseminated in the Azerbaijani social media. Given the Armenophobic policy of the powers in Baku, it is impossible to count on a fair trial without pressure from the Azerbaijani government.

It is worth recalling that the report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment stated that in Azerbaijan, “torture and other forms of physical ill-treatment by the police and other law enforcement agencies, corruption in the whole law enforcement system and impunity remain systemic and endemic.”

In this connection, we reiterate our strong appeal to the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to demonstrate consistency in the application of the principles of international law and OSCE commitments and to condemn the deprivation of the Armenian prisoners of war of their right to a fair trial. Apparently, the ODIHR has become inured to the dire situation with regard to human rights and fundamental freedoms in Azerbaijan. Nevertheless, whatever the reason for the ODIHR’s silence, be it political motives or selective approach, it does not bode well for its reputation.

It may be useful to recall that such behaviour on the part of Azerbaijan also grossly violates Article 99 of the Third Geneva Convention, which reads in particular: “No moral or physical coercion may be exerted on a prisoner of war in order to induce him to admit himself guilty of the act of which he is accused. No prisoner of war may be convicted without having had an opportunity to present his defence and the assistance of a qualified advocate or counsel.”

Particular attention is due to the case of the aforementioned Mr. Vicken Euljekjian, as he has already been illegally convicted to 20 years’ imprisonment. Kidnapped by the armed forces of Azerbaijan the day after the signing of the trilateral statement, Azerbaijan tries to present him as a “mercenary” or a “terrorist” on the basis of evidence obtained through torture.

Dear colleagues,

Despite the numerous calls from the international community, Azerbaijan also continues to conceal the real number of Armenians detained, denying the capture of dozens of Armenian servicemen and civilians. Moreover, Azerbaijan denies the detention of those whose capture by Azerbaijani forces was confirmed both by video evidence and testimonies of repatriated Armenians. This raises legitimate concerns about a number of possible war crimes, in particular enforced disappearances of Armenian prisoners of war. In addition to gross violations of international humanitarian law and of the trilateral statement of 9 November 2020, the Azerbaijani regime also continues to defy the relevant decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on providing relevant information on Armenian military personnel and civilians held captive in Azerbaijan.

Madam Chairperson,

The OSCE participating States should continue to put pressure on Azerbaijan for the immediate and unconditional release of all Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives. The international community should not tolerate the holding of fabricated mock trials and should consider imposing sanctions on Azerbaijan for a number of serious violations of international humanitarian law and for its blatant disregard of decisions of the ECHR and principles and commitments of the OSCE.

Madam Chairperson,

I kindly ask you to attach this statement to the journal of today’s meeting.

Thank you.

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