Armenian Legal Center for Justice & Human Rights: State Department's failure to respond emboldens Azerbaijan by ignoring Armenian POWs

WASHINGTON, DC—The Armenian Legal Center for Justice & Human Rights (ALC) is deeply disappointed by the US State Department’s failure to address and appropriately respond to a February 19, 2021 Congressional bipartisan letter highlighting the plight of Armenian POWs, including civilians and protected persons, who are unlawfully held captive under the Geneva Conventions by Azerbaijan.

“It is outrageous that after nearly five months of President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken expressing this administration’s commitment to human rights, Acting Assistant Secretary of State Naz Durakoglu pens a response to the Armenian Caucus that completely disregards and ignores the unlawfully held Armenian POWs,” stated ALC chairperson Kenneth Hachikian. “This response reveals a State Department policy that dehumanizes the unlawfully held Armenian POWs and emboldens Aliyev and dictators around the world.”

ALC has partnered with the Yerevan-based International & Comparative Law Center (ICLaw) to file cases and advocate on behalf of nearly 100 Armenian POWs before the European Court of Human Rights. Recently, ALC and ICLaw published a list of 19 Armenian POWs who were alive in captivity and were subsequently tortured, abused and murdered by Azerbaijan. The list of 19 murdered Armenian POWs includes seven elderly, three disabled and 13 civilians.

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Armenian Legal Center for Justice & Human Rights

Based in Washington DC, the Armenian Legal Center for Justice & Human Rights is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nongovernmental organization with the mission to pursue justice for human rights violations emanating from the Armenian Genocide including the regional security of the Armenia and Artsakh Republics.