{"id":1823,"date":"2021-06-15T13:53:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-15T20:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.new.armeniancouncil.org\/ACA\/?p=1823"},"modified":"2021-06-15T15:39:30","modified_gmt":"2021-06-15T22:39:30","slug":"joint-letter-in-support-of-armenian-pows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.armeniancouncil.org\/ACA\/joint-letter-in-support-of-armenian-pows\/","title":{"rendered":"Joint-Letter in Support of Armenian POWs"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON DC, June 15, 2021 – The Armenian Council of America, joined 18 organizations and individuals in a joint letter organized by the International Religious Freedom Roundtable in DC, a multi-faith coalition of diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds, calling on the US State Department to place pressure on Azerbaijan to release Armenian prisoners of war and address religious freedom concerns in the region.<\/p>\n

While the\u00a0welcome news<\/a>\u00a0this week that 15 Armenian prisoners of war were released, there are still hundreds of POWs who remain in Azerbaijani custody. Armenia’s Representative Office to the European Court of Human Rights has\u00a0240 cases<\/a>\u00a0of alleged prisoners of war and civilian detainees pending court intervention with Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n

The submitted joint public letter raises serious concerns with the US State Department regarding Azerbaijan\u2019s refusal to return the remaining prisoners of war and captive civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh\u00a0especially given the numerous credible reports of Azerbaijani forces subjecting the POWs and civilians to torture and other inhuman, cruel and degrading treatment. [see:\u00a0Human Rights Watch<\/a>,\u00a0HART UK<\/a>].<\/p>\n

The letter also calls attention to the reports of Azerbaijani forces destroying historical houses of worship and engaging in speech calling for the eradication of the remaining Armenian population.<\/p>\n

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The letter calls on the US State Department, in light of the above, to:<\/div>\n