“The United States must clearly advocate for the immediate and unconditional release of Armenian prisoners of war, there can be no peace until the Armenian prisoners of war are released.” Brad Sherman

“Today is the 1000th day of the illegal capture of Armenian prisoners of war and political prisoners by Azerbaijan. “Tomorrow, the Foreign Relations Committee of the House of Representatives will finally have the opportunity to officially condemn this ongoing injustice, supporting my proposal for legislative change and calling on Azerbaijan to immediately and unconditionally release these prisoners,” said Brad Sherman, Vice Chairman of the Congressional Committee on Armenian Affairs, during a press conference held in the US Congress on the occasion of the 1000th day of the imprisonment of Armenian prisoners held in Baku.

It should be noted that according to Brad Sherman’s legislative proposal, Azerbaijan is required to immediately and unconditionally release all Armenian prisoners of war and hostages.

Congressmen Tom McClintock, Judy Chu and Laura Friedman also participated in the press conference. Aram Hambaryan participated in the press conference on behalf of the Armenian Dat Committee of America.

During the press conference, Brad Sherman assured that there can be no peace until the Armenian prisoners of war and hostages are released. “This administration strives to ensure lasting peace in the South Caucasus. However, there can be no lasting peace until every Armenian prisoner of war and political prisoner is freed from Azeri prisons and can return home. Today, Armenians cannot return to Artsakh, because it is not safe for any Armenian to live there. However, at least Armenian POWs can return and reunite with their families in Armenia. My proposed amendment reflects the growing international consensus on the release of Armenian prisoners of war, including: The resolution adopted by the European Parliament in April. I presented that proposal before. I have negotiated with the chairman of the committee and made some amendments, and now we have his support for the amendment which states that America must use all means at its disposal to obtain the release of these prisoners of war. This should have happened a thousand days ago.

Brad Sherman warned during the press conference that more than 1000 days have passed since the end of the war, but the Armenian prisoners of war and political prisoners kept in Azeri captivity continue to be subjected to violence and torture. “They were forced to appear humiliating court hearings. Their appearance often indicated that they had been subdued beating and violence. The trials were held almost entirely behind closed doors, without the participation of independent observers, and the 16 defendants were collectively charged with 250 alleged crimes on trumped-up charges. No evidence was presented to the public.

According to the scale of Freedom House, Azerbaijan has only 6 points out of 100with the freedom index. Thus, even the citizens of Azerbaijan cannot expect a fair trial in that judicial system, let alone the Armenians who have faced violence and systematic discrimination by that government for decades. That is why it is important that the world does not believe the lies of the dictator of Azerbaijan when he tries to present all this as an ordinary criminal case. According to Aliyev, carrying out ethnic cleansing and committing massacres is honorable, and resisting ethnic cleansing is a crime.

Let’s be clear. the only “crime” of these prisoners of war is that they believed that the indigenous people of Artsakh have the right to dignity, autonomy and self-determination. Given the documented executions of Armenian prisoners of war by Azerbaijani forces, including several gruesome executions that were videotaped and shared on social media by criminals and documented by Human Rights Watchon his part, it is vitally important that the United States clearly advocates for the immediate and unconditional release of all Armenian prisoners of war.”

Tatev Harutyunyan