ECtHR requests data on POWs from Azerbaijan and Armenia

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has received complaints about rights violation from 228 captured residents of Armenia, and from 13 captured citizens of Azerbaijan, the ECtHR reported on February 4 and demanded from the authorities of both countries to provide information about all these prisoners of war (POWs).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that after signing the peace agreement with Azerbaijan in November 2020, residents of Armenia appealed to the ECtHR seeking extradition of POWs. According to the representative of the interests of Armenian POWs at the ECtHR, as of January 12, 2021, a total of 120 POWs had been held in Azerbaijan.

The ECtHR has reported that it had accepted complaints from authorities of Armenia and Azerbaijan about human rights violations against POWs. "The ECtHR has received numerous requests about the alleged POWs, submitted by the countries' governments or POWs' relatives. At the moment, the received requests concern 241 people, 228 Armenians and 13 Azerbaijanis. The ECtHR has offered the respondent government to provide information about the POWs concerned," the "News-Armenia" Agency quoted the ECtHR's message in the evening on February 4.

The complaint lodged by Armenia contains allegations of massive war crimes committed by Azerbaijan - shelling of peaceful dwelling settlements, torture of civilians, executions and ill-treatment, says the statement of the news agency.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 5, 2021 at 09:17 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.