On June 5, one of the
public televisions of Azerbaijan broadcasted a reportage, which referenced the
Armenian Prisoners of War. In the reportage, the journalist holds discussions
with 5 Armenian Prisoners of War.
In relation to the
reportage and its dissemination, the Human Rights Defender considers it
essential to underline the following.
Prisoners of War must
be shielded from public curiosity; committing such acts is directly banned by
Article 13 of Geneva Convention III;
The ban pursues 2 main
goals: to respect the dignity of the Prisoners of War, and to protect them from
harm during and after the period of captivity.
Deprived of their
liberty, Prisoners of War cannot freely express their consent to be recorded on
video, which will be broadcasted and disseminated.
As a result of the
publication and dissemination of the information about the Prisoners of War on
social network platforms, they are further targeted by the public, as evidenced
by the negative comments of Azerbaijani users about the broadcast.
The Defender calls on
the media community of Armenia to refrain from disseminating the videos of the
Armenian Prisoners of War taken from Azerbaijani sources, to keep them away
from public curiosity.
The more detailed
legal position of the Human Rights Defender on this matter has been sent to
international partners, as well as to international organizations with a
mandate to protect human rights.
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