STEPANAKERT. – Azerbaijan is flagrantly violating the provisions of the Geneva Convention, Karbakh Foreign Ministry said commenting on the inquiry by Armenian News-NEWS.am concerning the “interview” of Karabakh captive that appeared in Azerbaijani media.

“By publishing the video message of Andranik Grigoryan, the first of which was demonstrated on the next day after he was captivated, the Azerbaijani side grossly violates the rules of international humanitarian law, in particular, Article 13 of the Geneva Convention on the treatment of the prisoners of war as of 12 August 1949,” the Karabakh ministry said in a statement.

By joining the Convention, the countries are obliged to respect and persuade to respect the provisions of the convention. In the case of Azerbaijan, this provision is particularly relevant, given the fact that violation of international humanitarian law by the Azerbaijani side has a systematic character.

“Blatant disregard of the rules of international humanitarian law by the Azerbaijani side is a challenge for the international community, as respecting the law is responsibility of the international community as a whole,” the statement reads.

There are a number of precedents, not only pressure on Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan, but murder. Captured in August 2014, resident of the village of Chinari Karen Petrosyan was killed on the same day in the Azerbaijani prison. According to Azerbaijani sources, the prisoner allegedly died of a heart attack. In September 2013, shepherd Manvel Saribekyan was killed in Azerbaijani prisons. According to the Azerbaijani media, he allegedly committed suicide.

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am