Yerevan violates international law by calling separatist leaders POWs

Editorial

Armenian hysteria continues over the arrested separatist gangs amidst Yerevan's demands for justice to its another scenario of "forcibly displaced people from Garabagh".

Yerevan, which has now begun to understand the nature of how serious the issue is, is already trying to legalize the issue by making protests with tumults in front of international organizations. However, Ruben Vardanyan, Araik Harutnyan and others, who were arrested according to Azerbaijan legislation, created illegal armed groups in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan and engaged in terrorism and sabotage until September 19, 2023.

As always, this time the European Parliament will approach the issue from double standards and discuss the issue of "prisoners of war" on March 19, that is, those arrested over creating illegal armed groups in another country's territory.

First of all, information about the transgressors, former separatist leaders detained in the Garabakh region by Azerbaijani law enforcement agencies do not fall under the category of prisoners of war and the actions of the Geneva Convention. Since they are citizens of Azerbaijan who have committed offenses according to the criminal code and are responsible according to the law. The main crimes they are accused of are the creation and participation in illegal armed groups, separatism, encroachment on territorial integrity, etc.

As for Ruen Vardanyan, being a citizen of a foreign state, he illegally entered the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan, by the way, which is now recognized by the Armenian authorities and committed crimes on the territory of another state.

According to international law, prisoners of war are military personnel of another state captured with weapons in their hands in military uniform during hostilities, so none of them fall under this category.

Thus, as mistakenly mentioned by the EPP, illegal armed groups do not fall under this category, i.e., calling the arrested ones prisoners of war is a stark violation of international law.