In addition to the 73 prisoners, “the fate of these 150 people is unknown.” Siranush Sahakyan

In addition to the 73 captives, the fate of 150 is unknown. “We have captive women who have been forcibly displaced, but it is not known whether they were killed, whether their bodies were found or whether they were taken prisoner,” Siranush Sahakyan, a lawyer representing Armenian prisoners at the European Court of Human Rights, told reporters.

Referring to the statement of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov that Azerbaijan does not consider the Armenian servicemen arrested in Nagorno-Karabakh after the signing of a trilateral statement on Nagorno Karabakh on November 10, 2020, to be prisoners, the lawyer noted that this shows that these people are criminals and will not be returned, as the judicial process has already been formalized, that is why they refer to the change of status.

According to Siranush Sahakyan, the idea that they killed Azeris in the war is absurd to think that they are criminals. “It is clear that attacking the enemy troops during the war is allowed, on this basis few can be considered criminals. “Azerbaijan is just trying to hinder repatriation with unnecessary means,” she said.

According to him, from a legal point of view, in terms of the status of captive citizens there is no difference before or after November 9.

As for the question of how the negotiations on the return of the captives go, Siranush Sahakyan answered, “Negotiations are not encouraging, the issue is really politicized, the Armenian authorities will still make concessions and in the case of this defeatist psychology, Azerbaijan keeps the issue of prisoners of war as an additional lever to finally humiliate the Armenian authorities,” she said.

The lawyer noted that, in total, we have 65 repatriated prisoners whose captivity was connected with the 2020 war, at the moment we have 73 confirmed captives who are officially accepted by the Azerbaijani authorities and are in Azerbaijan.

“At the same time, processes are taking place in connection with about 150 captives, there is evidence that speaks in favor of captivity, the Azerbaijani authorities simply do not accept it. In addition to 73, the fate of about 150 people is still unknown; according to our information, there are also women.

Full text in Armenia