Ombudsperson protests against Armenia-captured Azerbaijani servicemen's arrest extension

Sabina Aliyeva, the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsperson) of the Republic of Azerbaijan has protested against the extension of the arrest of the Azerbaijani soldiers, taken captive by Armenia and illegally deprived of freedom.

Caliber.Az reports that in a statement the Ombudsperson said:

"As known, the soldiers of the Azerbaijani Army Agshin Gabil oglu Babirov and Huseyn Ahliman oglu Akhundov, who went missing in April 2023 in the territory of Shahbuz district of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic bordering Armenia and were taken captive by Armenia, were sentenced to imprisonment on false accusations.

During this period, they were denied legal counsel, were subjected to torture and ill-treatment in various ways, and, as a result, international law was severely violated.

We regret to note that despite repeated appeals on this issue, the Armenian authorities, still adopting a hostile stance, once again demonstrated their intention to strike a blow to the peace negotiations by prolonging the arrests of these individuals, ignoring the requirements of international law. We reiterate that the biased 'decision' on the unlawful deprivation of freedom of our soldiers and prolongation of their imprisonment due to the so-called 'trial' conducted by Armenia is in total contradiction to the norms and principles of international law, and we once again strongly demand the immediate release of our soldiers.

As the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Azerbaijan, I once again call on the international community to take serious and effective steps towards the release of our servicemen held captive".