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<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u201cWe, human rights defenders and representatives of Armenian civil society express our grave concern over the ongoing detention and criminal proceedings against Armenian prisoners of war (POWs) and civilian detainees currently held in Azerbaijan. Given the severity of the charges and the extensive violations of human rights observed during these legal proceedings, we formally request international monitoring to ensure that principles of justice and fair trials are upheld for Armenian defendants,\u201d the letter states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The appeal highlights significant concerns regarding Azerbaijan\u2019s judicial processes, particularly in cases involving Armenian detainees. The letter underscores that these trials have been marred by severe procedural violations, including a presumption of guilt without evidence, denial of access to case files in a language the defendants understand, inadequate legal representation, and complete absence of the right to an independent and impartial tribunal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moreover, the letter notes that legal aid provided by Azerbaijan lacks independence and effectiveness and independent lawyers are intimidated and obstructed from performing their duties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese fabricated cases and show trials not only undermine the rights of the accused but also perpetuate state-sponsored Armenophobia and hate propaganda against Armenians, as documented by international human rights organizations,\u201d the letter warns. It further emphasizes that Azerbaijan\u2019s judiciary has long been criticized for its lack of independence, with substantial evidence pointing to its subordination to the executive branch, rendering it an instrument of state power rather than an impartial arbiter of justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe appeal to you with a request to immediately cooperate with the Azerbaijani authorities to organize independent monitoring and publication of the outcomes of the ongoing and upcoming trials involving Armenian detainees. This monitoring must include unrestricted access to the trials and ensure public availability of their results. Such oversight is crucial to ensuring that the legal rights of ethnic Armenian POWs and detainees are safeguarded, that they receive fair trials and that international standards of justice and impartiality are upheld,\u201d the letter concludes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The letter has been signed by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
International and Comparative Law Center NGO<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Union for Protection of the Interests and Rights of the Artsakh People NGO<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Protection of Rights without Borders NGO<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Democracy Development Foundation<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Helsinki Citizens\u2019 Assembly \u2014 Vanadzor<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Law Development and Protection Foundation<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Peace Dialogue NGO<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Public Journalism Club NGO<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor Equal Rights\u201d Educational Center NGO<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Helsinki Association for Human Rights NGO<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Disability Rights Agenda NGO<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Women\u2019s Support Center NGO<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Centre for Community Mobilization and Support NGO<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tufenkian Foundation<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Human Rights Defender Ara Ghazaryan<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Human Rights Defender Philippe Kalfayan<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Human Rights Defender Arpi Avetisyan<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Over two dozen Armenian human rights NGOs and individual defenders have issued a joint appeal to international organizations and foreign ambassadors in Azerbaijan, urging them to monitor the trials of 16 Armenian detainees, which began behind closed doors in the Military Court of Baku, Azerbaijan on January 17. The next session of the hearing is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":508,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,12,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advocacy","category-english","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=504"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":512,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504\/revisions\/512"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}