BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 17. Azerbaijan's Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman), Sabina Aliyeva, has sent a letter to the relevant international and regional organizations so that they would, within their mandates, keep the issue of ensuring the rights of Azerbaijani servicemen detained by Armenia in the spotlight, the Ombudsman's Administration told Trend.
In the appeal, it was requested investigate the videos and photos published in the Armenian media regarding the inhuman treatment of the soldier of the Azerbaijani armed forces, and it was reported that the Ombudsman sent a letter to the headquarters and the Baku Office of the International Committee of the Red Cross regarding this issue.
The statement of the Ombudsman of Armenia, who visited Azerbaijani servicemen the other day, that they had "no complaints about torture or ill-treatment" is also noted in the appeal. Furthermore, it is mentioned that this statement made by the Armenian Ombudsman Institute, intended to conceal the committed legal infractions, as evidenced by the images and video recordings showing the Azerbaijani soldier being subjected to brutality, is cause for concern. For this reason, the Ombudsman of Azerbaijan insisted that the relevant international and regional organizations promptly respond to those violations of the law within their mandate.
It was also emphasized that the Ombudsman and the National Preventive Group visited the Armenian prisoners of war during the second Karabakh war, as well as the members of the Armenian armed terror-sabotage groups detained in Azerbaijan's liberated territories in the aftermath of the war, and issued numerous press statements in this regard.
In the appeal, it was noted that, in addition to these actions, which were committed in serious violation of the norms and principles of international law and international humanitarian law, the fact of insulting the flag of Azerbaijan at the European Weightlifting Championship these days was also the result of Armenia’s widely propagated policy of hatred against Azerbaijan.
In conclusion, the Ombudsman urged those institutions to provide support for Azerbaijani servicemen to communicate with their family members through video calls and to ensure their safe return to their homes.