The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament has adopted a resolution calling on Azerbaijan to immediately and unconditionally release all Armenian military and civilian prisoners captured during and after the Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) War, and also calls on Baku to refrain from arbitrary detention in the future, informs the Armenian Embassy in the Czech Republic.
The resolution reads,
Whereas on March 19, 2021, the Human Rights Watch reported that Azerbaijani security and armed forces were abusing Armenian prisoners of war, and subjecting them to cruel and degrading treatment and torture, either at the time of their capture, during their transfer or in custody in various prisons.
I. Calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all Armenian military and civilian prisoners captured during and after the conflict, and calls on Azerbaijan to refrain from arbitrary detention in the future. Further urges the parties to the conflict to comply fully with the tripartite ceasefire of 9 November 2020, which provides for the exchange of prisoners of war, hostages and other detainees, as well as the remains of persons killed in the armed conflict;
II. Deplores the violence that took place during the last war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh; Expresses its solidarity with the victims and their families; Deplores the breach of the ceasefire, which has led to further human suffering, loss of life and destruction; Condemns all attacks on the civilian population and recalls that states have an obligation under international humanitarian law to protect the lives of civilians;
III. Considers it essential for the Government of Azerbaijan to provide exhaustive lists of all persons held in captivity in the context of the armed conflict and to provide information on their whereabouts and their health, including information on those who have died in captivity;
IV. Considers it necessary for the Government of Azerbaijan to cooperate fully with the European Court of Human Rights on the issue of Armenian prisoners and to comply with the preliminary rulings of the court which ordered Azerbaijan to provide detailed information on the conditions of detention of prisoners, their state of health and measures taken for their return;
V. We ask the Government of the Czech Republic to act in the spirit of the above on the territory of the European Union, the United Nations and other international organizations.
