Protest of the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan against the extension of the prison term of the Azerbaijani serviceman captured by Armenia and illegally deprived of freedom

As it is known, the soldiers of the Azerbaijani Army, Babirov Agshin Qabil oglu and Akhundov Huseyn Ahliman oglu, who went missing in the border area with Armenia of the Shahbuz district of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and were captured by Armenia in April 2023, were deprived of their liberty on fabricated charges.

During this period, they were not provided with a lawyer, were subjected to various tortures and ill-treatment, and thus the norms of international law were grossly violated .

We regret to note that despite numerous appeals on this issue, by extending the prison term of one of the servicemen, Armenia has once again blatantly violated the international law and demonstrated its intention to undermine the ongoing peace negotiations.

We state that the fabricated "trial process" conducted by Armenia, which resulted in the unlawful deprivation of freedom of our military servicemen and the recent arbitrary "decision" to extend the detention period of one of them, is in complete contradiction to the norms and principles of international law, and we once again strongly demand the immediate release of our soldiers.

As the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Azerbaijan, I once again call upon the international community to take serious and effective steps for the liberation of our servicemen who are still held captive.

Sabina Aliyeva

The Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman)

of the Republic of Azerbaijan

10 June 2023