Today I addressed an official letter to the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, on the matter of having the captives returned from Azerbaijan and protection of their rights. The Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, wrote this on Facebook on Monday.

"The letter states, among other things, that the return or release of [Armenian] captives should be considered solely within the framework of human rights or the humanitarian process. The letter applies to both servicemen and civilians.

The return of captives must be ensured immediately after the cessation of hostilities. (…).

(…) Point 8 of the November 9, 2020 trilateral statement is of autonomous significance and shall apply solely to an autonomous interpretation.

The tripartite statement of 9 November shall be applied both before and after all situations that have come about (…).

Azerbaijan is artificially delaying the release of captives of the Armenian side and otherwise deprived of liberty, but does not disclose the true number of captives.

The absolute urgency of the issue of the release of captives should also be considered in the context of anti-Armenianism in Azerbaijan (…).

With the letter, the [OSCE Minsk Group] Co-Chairs’ attention is drawn to the noted and all other issues, voicing the issue of the urgent need to take decisive measures to have the captives released, to rule out the politicization of the issue," the ombudsman of Armenia added in particular.