Jessica Morden, Labour MP for Newport East and Chairperson of the All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPG) for Armenia, asked a question in the House of Commons on April 1st: “This is clearly a critical time for peace in the region. The offensive by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh resulted in the forced displacement of up to 120,000 Armenians and the continued detention of 23 officials and civilians. There is much concern about the conduct of the trials, their welfare, and their access to legal support, so what more can the Minister do to put pressure on the Government of Azerbaijan to look for their release and to get access to the prisoners?”.
Stephen Doughty, Labour MP for Cardiff South and Penarth and Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), replied: “I thank my hon. Friend for her important work on these issues. The UK has consistently called for the release of all the remaining prisoners of war. We continue to urge the Azerbaijani authorities to ensure that those detained during the long-standing conflict with Armenia are afforded a fair trial and provided safe conditions. I raised that specifically with the Azerbaijani President’s special representative in October, and we continue to engage with them on this issue”.