The fake trial of 13 Armenian prisoners of war (POWs) continued July 22 in Baku Court of Appeal. They were sentenced to 6 years in prison, after which they will be deported. The article on terrorism has been removed, the captives have been falsely accused of crossing the border illegally and possessing ammunition.
The Armenian-British humanitarian group has sent a letter to all 650 UK MPs, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and members of the Government, demanding an end to the rigged hostage-taking trials. The Union of British Armenians continues to hold rallies demanding the release of Armenian POWs.
“We urge the British Parliament to use its leverage so that the Government can send independent observers to Baku to monitor the trials of Armenian POWs, demand an immediate end to them, publish a full list of Armenian POWs and captives (alive and dead), and release all Armenian POWs and illegally held captives immediately and unconditionally.”
The Baku court has also sentenced Russian citizen Eduard Dubakov to 10 years in prison on false charges for taking part in the recent Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war. The verdict states that after that Dubakov will be forcibly expelled from Azerbaijan. The Russian citizen stated in court that he does not plead guilty and believes in justice.
The European Court of Human Rights has issued another verdict against Azerbaijan on Arthur Badalyan, who was taken prisoner in Azerbaijan as a result of his disappearance in 2009. His whereabouts have been unknown to the Armenian Government and his family for more than a year. The ECHR records:
“Azerbaijan tortured and deprived of liberty Arthur Badalyan, a citizen of the Republic of Armenia. The European Court obliges Azerbaijan to pay 30,000 Euros to Artur Badalyan as compensation for non-pecuniary damage.”
Azerbaijan’s actions will be discussed separately in the US Senate. With this proposal, Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland answered the question of Senator Robert Menendez about Turkey’s role in the transfer of Syrian mercenaries during the Second Artsakh War.
