Lawyer: ECHR should expedite consideration of issue of Azerbaijani hostages
By Rashid Shirinov
The issue of torture against Dilgam Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev, who are in Armenian captivity, is the focus of attention, Asgarov’s lawyer and Chairman of the Azerbaijan Bar Association Anar Bagirov told Trend on May 2.
He noted that information in this regard is being collected, and then it will be sent to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
“We hope that the ECHR will soon make a fair decision in this regard. This issue worries all citizens of Azerbaijan. I think that the ECHR, while remaining committed to its principles, should expedite the consideration of this issue,” Bagirov said.
He also noted that documents are being prepared in connection with the transfer of video from the last meeting of Dilgam and Shahbaz with the representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to their families.
“The collection of these documents will soon be completed and they will be sent to the ECHR,” the lawyer said.
Asgarov and Guliyev have been kept hostage by Armenian militaries in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan for more than three years. They were detained 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 armed forces killed the third Azerbaijani Hasan Hasanov.
Later, Guliyev and Asgarov were judged illegally by the unrecognized courts of the separatist regime in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh. Following an expedited “judicial process” in December 2015, Asgarov was sentenced to life imprisonment and Guliyev – to 22 years in prison.
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 release of Guliyev and Asgarov, whilst the problem remains topical yet.
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 to free the captives and resolve the long-standing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
However, the Armenian side keeps ignoring all attempts of Azerbaijan and international organizations, thereby disrespecting the international law and hindering the settlement of the conflict.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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