Secretary General of the European Ombudsman Institute Josef Siegele has called on Azerbaijani to immediately release all Armenian prisoners of war and civilians held in Azerbaijan.

“Everyone deprived of their liberty for reasons related to the armed conflict should be returned immediately after the cessation of hostilities and without any preconditions,” Siegele said.

“It should be considered exclusively in the context of human rights and the humanitarian process as an international requirement which is to be automatically applied,” he added.

“Delaying the return of the Armenian prisoners of war and civilians undermined human dignity and seriously violates the fundamental requirements guaranteed by the Geneva Convention. This grossly undermines the post-war humanitarian processes and the international human rights mandates,” he noted.

Josef Siegele stressed that the release of the captives and their safe return require immediate resolution.