Epress.am News from Armenia
Azerbaijan's leadership is making attempts to renounce the captive members of an Azerbaijani "sabotage" group neutralized last week, at the same time seeking they be given the status of prisoners of war, but in this case that's impossible, since Article 4 of the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War clearly defines those who can be given the status of prisoner of war, reads the statement [AM] issued by the Republic of Armenia's Ministry of Defense.
"There is irrefutable evidence that, in fact, we are dealing with a criminal group, which the Azerbaijani authorities recruited and used for sabotage purposes. Members of the neutralized sabotage group had no distinguishing marks and grossly violated the laws and customs of war defined by international law, committing cruel and inhuman acts against the civilian population.
"Criminal legislation defines clear punishment for the neutralized sabotage group's criminal activity: illegal crossing of state territory, murder and attempted murder, attempts to illegally film specially protected areas, and so on. Thus, they will be criminally prosecuted according to the general procedure provided for by the criminal legislation — ensuring a fair trial and the general principles of international human rights law. If necessary, the mentioned irrefutable evidence can be provided to interested international agencies," reads the defense ministry's statement.
Photo: Shahbaz Guliyev, citizen of Azerbaijan and one of the members of the 'sabotage' group as identified by the Karabakh defense authorities and posted on their official website.