BAKU/YEREVAN. Jan 11 (Interfax) - Azerbaijan does not consider the members of an Armenian sabotage and terrorist group detained on November 26, 2020 to be prisoners of war, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said.
"As a result of a joint operation of the State Security Service and the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, a sabotage and terrorist group composed of 62 people was detained on the de-occupied territories and was handed over to the investigators. All detainees are residents of the Shirak region conscripted in the Armenian armed forces. They were placed on these territories to carry out sabotage and terrorist acts against the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and civilians," the ministry said in a statement.
According to the statement, the investigators determined that the sabotage and terrorist group was sent to the territory of the country on November 26, after the trilateral statement on a ceasefire signed by Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia took effect. This group carried out terrorist attacks, as a result of which Azerbaijani troops and civilians were killed and wounded.
"Because this sabotage and terrorist group was deployed to the territory of Azerbaijan after the ceasefire statement was signed, its members cannot be regarded as prisoners of war in accordance with international humanitarian law and they bear liability in accordance with the criminal legislation of Azerbaijan," the ministry said in its statement.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry, for its part, condemned "the prosecution of Armenian prisoners of war initiated by Azerbaijan."
These actions by the Azerbaijani authorities are "a major violation of international humanitarian law," the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
According to the statement, the demand for the release and repatriation of the prisoners of war is clearly stated in the trilateral statement of November 9 and the prosecution of the prisoners of war after the adoption of the trilateral statement is a major violation of this statement.
"The Armenian troops were captured due to a violation of another item of the trilateral statement, when Azerbaijan started military action in the direction of the villages of Khtsaberd and Khin Tager, Hadrut region of Artsakh [Armenian name for Nagorno-Karabakh] a month after the ceasefire was established. Azerbaijan announced the start of criminal proceedings about a month after the Armenian troops were captured, which indicates that Azerbaijan is using the Armenian prisoners of war as hostages to secure its political interests," the statement said.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry said that "repeated deliberate violations of the trilateral statement by Azerbaijan seriously threaten full-fledged implementation of the statement and create new challenges to regional security and peace."