BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept.2
Trend:
Despite all the efforts of Armenia, its groundless claims regarding "prisoners of war" are not accepted in the international arena, Azerbaijani political analyst Elchin Mirzabeyli told Trend.
According to Mirzabeyli, the Armenian servicemen detained for committing grave crimes that resulted in the death of civilians and servicemen on the territory of Azerbaijan, after the statement of November 10 (signed between the heads of Azerbaijan, Russia, and Armenia to cease the Armenian-Azerbaijani hostilities), which is considered an act of surrender for Armenia, in no case can be extradited as prisoners of war.
The political expert said that their actions are assessed by the judicial authorities of Azerbaijan in accordance with the requirements of the country's legislation. Article 4 of the Geneva Convention (III) concerning the Treatment of Prisoners of War clearly defines who and at what time is considered a prisoner of war.
The article says: “Prisoners of war within the meaning of this Convention are those who have fallen into the power of the enemy: (a) the personnel of the armed forces of a party to the conflict, as well as personnel of the militia and volunteer detachments that make up these armed forces.”
“The Convention shows that the conflict and those who were captured during the conflict (war). As is known, the conflict (war) between Azerbaijan and Armenia ended with a trilateral statement of November 10, 2020,” he added.
“Armenian provocateurs-terrorists were detained for committing specific crimes as a result of the anti-terrorist operation on December 11, that is, a month after the end of the war. Thus, the Geneva Convention has nothing to do with terrorists who were convicted in Azerbaijan,” Mirzabeyli noted.
“It is on this basis that the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated at a meeting with his Armenian counterpart that the Armenian servicemen held in Azerbaijan were detained after November 9. This, in turn, proves that Armenia's claims regarding the "prisoners of war" are not accepted in the international arena and are considered groundless,” Mirzabeyli added.
