The Armenian Legal Center for Justice and Human Rights (ALC) in partnership with the International and Comparative Law Center (ICLaw) has announced the filing of new applications (cases) with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) alleging that Azerbaijan is responsible for the deaths of Armenian Prisoners of War (POWs) and civilians held in captivity, the Armenian Weekly informs.
The applications present that 19 Armenian individuals, both civilians who remained in their native settlements and soldiers, were killed in 10 separate incidents while these individuals were held captive by Azerbaijani forces and/or in prison.
These applications have been presented with irrefutable evidence in the form of eyewitness testimony, widespread video footage posted on the internet, forensic medical examinations and expert opinions.
With insurmountable evidence, ICLaw, with the support of ALC, seeks to hold Azerbaijan accountable for failing to protect the lives of those in captivity under both the European Convention on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.
“By failing to protect the lives of those in captivity and by failing to investigate captives who are killed, Azerbaijan defiantly violates human rights law and fails to fulfill its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights,” stated ALC chairperson Kenneth Hachikian. “It is incumbent on the ECHR, and all affiliated European institutions, to unequivocally draw a red line and force Azerbaijan’s dictatorship to take responsibility.”
ALC is committed to pursuing justice for these 19 Armenian individuals and ensuring that all Armenian POWs are released and repatriated without harm.
Based on this objective, ALC has partnered with ICLaw based in Yerevan, Armenia, to file cases and advocate before the ECHR on behalf of over 100 individual Armenian POWs. Thus this partnership serves to individually represent more than half of the Armenian POWs currently held in captivity by Azerbaijan. Recently, ICLaw, with the support of ALC, filed additional cases for interim measures and is working constantly to investigate and identify additional POWs held by Azerbaijan. As more information is obtained, ICLaw and ALC will continue to pursue both the freedom and the right to life of all Armenian POWs.
