The statement of Azerbaijani Defense Ministry spokesman Eldar Sabiroğlu, as assessed by the human rights defender Artur Sakunts, speaks about their weak behavior.
” However, I do not recall a case that we have made an Azerbaijani captive to speak, forcing him to express his opinion. It had happened that Ministry of Defense of Armenia has spread the information that an Azerbaijani was taken prisoner, noting that he had escaped from there in the result of poor conditions…. even if such a thing was done, it does not mean that Azerbaijan would behave that way. Both sides have a responsibility before the Geneva Convention to protect the life and safety of the prisoner, to refrain from committing acts of violence against him, respect his right to express his opinion, as well as they are obligated to take measures to immediately hand in the prisoner. If the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry interprets their behavior as such, we do so because the Armenian side did so: this is a very weak behavior,”- said Mr. Sakunts, referring to Azerbaijani Defense Ministry spokesman’s statement that the Azerbaijani prisoners were repeatedly interviewed in Armenia and shown by Yerevan TV companies.
Mr. Sakunts also said that it is not up to Azerbaijan what the appearance of the soldier was in the status of captive. “What was the appearance of the soldier in captive, should not become a matter of discussion. It is not the matter how the captive looked like rather than how he was treated. The cases of other prisoners show that violence was used against military and civilian prisoners. Captive soldier was used for their political objectives, instead of maintaining the norms of humanitarian law, the captive was used for political purposes and as a tool for propaganda to slander the other party to show the condition worse.”
The fact that Baku office of the “Red Cross” International Committee has failed to meet the prisoner Hacob Injighulyan, according to Mr. Sakunts’s assessment: “It is a flagrant violation of obligations of Azerbaijani side assumed by the international humanitarian law, because they should have informed the international “Red Cross” regarding the prisoner from the very moment of captivation, and provided their representatives to meet the prisoner.”
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So far, the human rights defender does not want to talk about what the circumstances were, or why the soldier appeared in the status of captive: he is still waiting for the steps from the Armenia Ministry of Defense. “The Armenian side should carry out an official investigation to determine the circumstances and the reasons which result in the soldier appeared on the other side in the status of captive. When Armenia Defense Ministry announces the results of the official investigation, then I will present my conclusions and questions.”
Whether President of Russia Vladimir Putin will interfere in the issue of returning the prisoner, Mr. Sakunts has no expectations. “I always have a reservation to Putin, because from the point of view of international law, he must stand before the Hague tribunal for organizing genocide of Chechens. I do not have any expectation by such dictator. How can you expect a humane treatment from a man, who does not display humane treatment for its citizens?”
Note that a day before, the relatives of captivated soldier Hacob Injighulyan appealed to RA authorities to introduce their request to RF President Putin in Azerbaijan to assist in the return of Hakob.
Arpine SIMONYAN
