Okeil: We demand the Azerbaijani government to hand over the Armenian prisoners of war in accordance with the tripartite agreement

Nourhan Mustafa: The Azerbaijani authorities are actin in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. Humane.

Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights condemns the Azerbaijani government's trial of Armenian prisoners of war and their failure to hand them over to the Armenian government. During Azerbaijan's 44 day offensive against the Republic of Artsakh, the Azerbaijani side has systemically violated international humanitarian law by committing crimes against humanity and war crimes that are not subject to statutes of limitation.  .

For its part, Ayman Okeil, head of Maat, expressed his deep concerns over the Azerbaijani government lack of commitment to its obligation and its failure to hand over Armenian prisoners of war. In line with the November 9 Tripartite Agreement. prisoners of war must be released and repatriated without delay; therefore, establishing tribunals for them is a blatant violation to the agreement, and a clear indication of Azerbaijan use of Armenian prisoners of war as hostages to advance its political agenda. Azerbaijan’s ongoing and deliberate violations of the Tripartite Statement seriously undermine the full implementation of the declaration and pose new challenges to regional security and peace.

It is worth noting that capturing the Armenian soldiers violates another item of the Tripartite Statement; as, last month, Azerbaijan launched other military offensives against the villages of Khtsaberd and Hin Taghlar in the Hadrut region of the Republic of Artsakh, after declaring ceasefire. . About one month later, the Azerbaijani side announced privately the establishment of tribunals for the captured Armenian soldiers.

For its part, Nourhan Mustafa, director of the International Humanitarian Law Unit at Maat, confirmed that the acts of the Azerbaijani authorities constitute a blatant and flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. According to Customary Law, Art. No. 128, Prisoners of war must be released and repatriated without delay after the cessation of active hostilities..

The Director of the International Humanitarian Law Unit called on the Azerbaijani government to abide by the rules of international humanitarian law related to the protection of detainees and their safe return to their countries,  and to form an official fact-finding committee to investigate these violations and to held perpetrators accountable.