Head of the Press Service Department of the MFA of the Republic of Azerbaijan answers the question of the media about the ECHR decision on rejecting Armenia’s request to immediately release eleven Armenian nationals currently detained in Azerbaijan

Question: The European Court of Human Rights rejected Armenia’s request to immediately release eleven Armenian nationals currently detained in Azerbaijan. Can you please comment on this decision?

Answer:  The Government of Azerbaijan welcomes the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECHR) decision to reject Armenia’s request to immediately release eleven Armenian nationals currently detained in Azerbaijan. There were two attempts by Armenia to secure the release of detainees under Rule 39 of the Rules of the Court, both were denied.

Armenia’s application ignores Azerbaijan’s rights and obligations under international law to investigate and detain, and as appropriate, prosecute individuals who are suspected of violating Azerbaijani and international law, including committing heinous war crimes. The ECHR decision underscores these rights.

Armenia’s application to immediately release these detainees amounts to a request for the Government of Azerbaijan to ignore due process and the rule of law. We remain committed to these principles, and will continue to detain these individuals until investigations and legal proceedings are complete.

For example, two of the detained Armenian individuals that Armenia have demanded be released immediately – Mkrtchyan Ludwig and Khosrovyan Alyosha – are currently under investigation for alleged torture of Azerbaijani citizens. Azerbaijan is committed to upholding established principles of international and domestic law by following due process and completing these investigations.

Azerbaijan has fully complied with all requests made regarding the well-being of these individuals. We are facilitating visits of the International Committee of the Red Cross as well as the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsperson) for detainees and have provided medical documents on the health conditions of all Armenian detainees, including 6 servicemen captured by the Azerbaijani military on May 27.