There have been cases when Armenian servicemen were brought and left in the territory that was completely under the control of Azerbaijan. This is what advocate for Armenian prisoners of war in the European Court of Human Rights Siranush Sahakyan said during today’s discussion, adding that those servicemen were unarmed and weren’t adequately equipped.

As for the current topic on whether prisoners of war are heroes or criminals, according to her, many people started expressing their concern a few months ago when wrong signals were being sent.

“At the time, we noticed that the officials of Armenia or Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) would greet the captives returned through Russia’s efforts in order to ensure a high rating. However, we didn’t see this attitude towards those who fought in the battles. What was also interesting was the discussion on the lawfulness of applying amnesty for those who have committed war crimes. The Prime Minister also made statements by referring to the captives as heroes,” Sahakyan emphasized, adding that, in her opinion, heroes are usually those who are ready to sacrifice their lives for the homeland.

As far as Khtsaberd is concerned, she called on conducting a thorough study of all the aspects and “not targeting the boys without proper rationale”.

According to her, there haven’t been Armenian prisoners of war in Iran. She didn’t rule out the fact that this version was also disseminated intentionally and declared that Azerbaijan will actively use Armenian officials’ statements in its favor, including with regard to self-determination, borders, etc.

In regard to the sensational video featuring the Speaker of the National Assembly, Sahakyan believes there is an intention to distract the public’s attention from the major issues such as Russia’s statements on demarcation and delimitation.