Committee created to protect rights of Azerbaijan's Asgarov, Guliyev in Armenian captivity
By Gunay Hasanova
A Committee was established in Azerbaijan to protect the rights of Azerbaijani citizens Dilgam Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev , who were taken hostage by Armenian militaries in the occupied Azerbaijani territory.
The composition of the Committee consists of 80 members, while elect- chairman is Alovsat Agalarov.
The Committee appealed to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Russian Embassy in Azerbaijan asking them to assist in the liberation of the hostages kept in Armenian captivity.
The two citizens of Azerbaijan were taken hostage by the Armenian armed forces in July 2014 while visiting their native places and graves of loved ones in the occupied Azerbaijani Kalbajar region. Moreover, Armenian forces killed the third Azerbaijani citizen, Hasan Hasanov.
Later, Guliyev and Asgarov were judged illegally by the unrecognized courts of a separatist regime in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh. Following an expedited “judicial process" in December 2015, Asgarov was sentenced to life imprisonment and Guliyev to 22 years.
Azerbaijan, whose over 4,000 citizens were taken captive, hostage, or went missing as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh war, has repeatedly declared its readiness to begin negotiations with Armenia.
Azerbaijan’s State Committee on Affairs of Refugees and IDPs, the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons and other agencies have repeatedly urged international organizations, including the ICRC, to assist in the release of Guliyev and Asgarov, whilst the problem remains actual yet.
But the Armenian side remained deaf, ignoring all calls and violating the international rules and norms was subjecting the hostages to various tortures.
Armenian aggression against its neighboring country resulted in the occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territories. The large-scale hostilities resulted in the death of over 20,000 Azerbaijanis while over 4,000 ethnic Azerbaijanis were taken captive, hostage, or went missing as a result of the war. The majority of those captured during the hostilities are children, elderly people, and women.
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Gunay Hasanova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @gunhasanova
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