Nearly a month after a peace deal was made between Armenia and Azerbaijan, evidence of Armenian prisoners of war being withheld from release, tortured and humiliated by their Azeri and Turkish captors began circulating in social media channels. Azerbaijani and Turkish soldiers are seen decapitating, executing, mutilating, torturing and abusing Armenian prisoners of war. In most videos, the captors‘ and perpetrators’ faces were visible.
International humanitarian laws, such as the third Geneva Convention, were put in place to protect prisoners of war, and ensure that they are treated humanely in all circumstances. This entails their protection from any form of intimidation, insults, and abuse. These laws also indicate that prisoners of war must be released and returned to their countries without delay. Evidence has been compiled demonstrating that Azerbaijan has been directly violating international law in their inhumane treatment of Armenian POWs, as well as in their intentional delay of their release.
The United States Armenian Council for Human Rights sent correspondences to Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and coordinated an email campaign for concerned citizens to directly address Putin, Putin’s staff, other human rights organizations, politicians, and journalist regarding the POW crisis. Over two thousand letters were successfully written and sent directly to these parties.
Additionally, the United States Armenian Council for Human Rights organized a silent protest on December 12th in Santa Monica, to raise awareness of the war crimes committed against Armenians by Turkey and Azerbaijan. From deploying cluster munitions in residential regions in Stepanakert to the execution of Armenian citizens and targeting of churches with cultural significance, the world and human rights organizations watched in silence as these crimes took place. The silent protest, which Fox 11 News covered, was meant to demonstrate to non-Armenians how Armenian prisoners of war are being treated in 2020.
Following the letters sent and the silent protest, forty-four POWs were safely returned to Armenia, while others remained in captivity and require medical assistance.
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