BAKU: The recent report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on the mistreatment of Armenian prisoners of war (PОWs) held in Azerbaijan reflects a biased approach and misleads the international community, the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsperson) of Azerbaijan, Sabina Aliyeva said on Wednesday.
Aliyeva made the remark commenting on the allegations of mistreatment of the Armenian PОWs in HRW’s report dated March 19, 2021.
The Ombudsperson stressed that in any report on sensitive topics such as conflicts, their consequences, PОWs, alleged violations of international humanitarian law, etc., the principle of objectivity must be observed, and in order to avoid a one-sided position, only verified facts and well-founded arguments should be used.
“Reference should be also made to materials and facts from reliable sources, such as independent international and local human rights organizations. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen these principles in the HRW report. On the contrary, we continue to witness double standards, distortion of truth and facts,” she noted. “We expect HRW to investigate and interrogate former Azerbaijani POWs who can provide detailed information on their mistreatment. At least before publishing its reports, HRW could review our report on the treatment of Azerbaijani prisoners of war and hostages who were in Armenian captivity.”
The report of the Ombudsperson contained testimonies about the treatment of the released Azerbaijani prisoners and hostages, which were given by these persons themselves. For example, during a conversation personally conducted by Aliyeva, one of the former prisoners of war said that he had been hit with a sharp metal rod, another said that a current had been passed through him, and the third that he had been repeatedly burned with a lighter.
According to her, at a face-to-face meeting with her, one of the released Azerbaijani POWs said that during the Second Karabakh War (from late Sept. through early Nov.2020) he was heavily wounded in the left leg and right eye as a result of a large-caliber weapon shot. – Agencies
