Fernand Kartheiser, member of the Alternative Democratic Reform Group of the Luxembourg Parliament, asked the Speaker of the Parliament Fernand Etgen questions about the Armenian prisoners of war in Azerbaijan, demanding to take step to release them from captivity.
Armenpress reports that the Honorary Consulate of Armenia to Luxembourg informs about it.
“Videos about torture of Armenian prisoners of war have circulated on social media even before the ceasefire on the 9-th November. After the ceasefire, Armenia has handed over Azerbaijani prisoners of war to Azerbaijan while the same was not true in the opposite direction. It is speculated that Azerbaijan is keeping almost 200 persons in captivity including civilians.
In this context, I would like to ask the following questions to the Minister of Foreign Affairs;
1. Does the Government have the information about the number of military and civilian personal, still held captive by Azerbaijan five months after the ceasefire?
2. Does the Government have information about people, Armenian or otherwise, having been tortured in Azerbaijani captivity?
According to the source, Fernand Kartheiser asked the Luxembourg Government which actions the Government undertakes concretely, so that Azerbaijan publishes the full list of captured persons, Azerbaijan respects its commitments resulting from ceasefire, especially in the humanitarian domain; Azerbaijan respects international humanitarian law in general and does not abuse or torture persons under its control. The MP’s questions also referred to the support of the International Red Cross in its endeavors to support the population and the help of the international organizations and diplomatic representatives gain access to Azerbaijan controlled territories, where persons are held captive since the armed conflict.
The parliamentarian also asked the Government to raise awareness of the members of the Minsk group about the afore mentioned problems; to raise the afore mentioned humanitarian concerns in international organizations like the UN, OSCE, EU and the Council of Europe and to demand these organizations commit themselves to the liberation of the prisoners of war; as well as to advocate targeted sanctions against Azerbaijan in case of continued obstruction.
