Armenian POWs Held in Azerbaijan for Political Reasons, Ombudsman Tells UK Ambassador

• 02.08.2022, 12:38
•  Armenia

Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan met with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Armenia John Gallagher, ArmRadio reports.

Human Rights defender Arman Tatoyan has briefed UK Ambassador to Armenia John Gallagher on the violations of the rights of the border residents of Armenia by the Azerbaijani armed servicemen, presenting concrete examples and facts.

During a meeting in Yerevan the Ombudsman stressed the urgency of the return of Armenian captives illegally held in Azerbaijan, and noted that people are being held for political and military interests.

He stressed that the Azerbaijani armed forces should leave the Armenian villages and emphasized the need to create a demilitarized security zone. Add to this the patronage of the policy of hatred and hostility against Armenians by the Azerbaijani authorities.

A number of other human rights issues were also touched upon.

Arman Tatoyan presented to the Ambassador the problems in the judicial system connected with unreasonable delays in court hearings, violations of reasonable deadlines, allegations of abuse of detention, etc.

Issues related to the protection of women’s and children’s rights were also discussed.

Arman Tatoyan noted that during the state of emergency declared during the COVID-19 pandemic, a working group was set up in the ombudsman’s staff to deal with issues related to the protection of women, children’s rights, prevention of domestic violence, as the risks of violence increased during the period.

The Defender also referred to the challenges in the field of protection of children’s rights, paying special attention to the importance of exercising the right to live and grow up in a family, the rights to education, independent and inclusive life.

The role of journalists in guaranteeing freedom of speech and excluding hate speech was discussed during the meeting. The Human Rights Defender stressed that the presumption of a journalist’s legitimacy and integrity is the core around which respect and high regard for his professional activities should be built.

Ambassador John Gallagher praised the high quality of cooperation with the Human Rights Defender throughout his tenure and expressed readiness for further joint work.