Baku Upset with Red Cross over Trial of Azeri Captives

One of the captured Azeri insurgents, Dilham Askerov, with weapons found on the persons of the three Azeri commandos who carried out an armed incursion into Karvachar

BAKU—Azerbaijani authorities expressed anger on Wednesday over the International Committee of the Red Cross’s statement of neutrality regarding Stepanakert’s decision to put to trial two captive members of an Azeri military unit who made an incursion into Karvachar in July, killing one teenage Armenian boy and wounding another woman.

The ICRC is aware of the upcoming trial of the Azerbaijanis, who are under detention in Artsakh, spokesperson for the ICRC’s Baku Office, Ilaha Huseynova, told APA.

“International humanitarian law doesn’t prevent defendants from standing trial. International humanitarian law always requires the observance of legal safeguards regarding the trial,” she said.

“The International Committee of the Red Cross regularly visits these people and helps them communicate with their families. According to the Geneva Convention, a part of international humanitarian law, the detainees should be treated humanely.”

Huseynova also said the ICRC isn’t a source of information about judicial proceedings.