YEREVAN, OCTOBER 11, ARMENPRESS. Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić addressed a letter to Azerbaijani foreign minister Jeyhun Bayramov, requesting to provide “detailed and precise information on the measures taken by the Azerbaijani authorities” regarding the video footage depicting the extrajudicial killings of Armenian POWs by Azerbaijani forces.

“Considering the alarming and shocking reports received recently, I feel obliged to request from your Ministry detailed and precise information on the measures taken by the Azerbaijani authorities regarding allegations under Articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights”, the CoE Secretary General said in her letter. “I refer to recent video footage allegedly depicting extreme violence against Armenian prisoners of war, including extrajudicial killings. Please be informed that the Council of Europe will follow the issue very closely in line with the mandate provided by the European Convention on Human Rights, to ensure full respect of the Organization’s standards”, she said.

In the letter the CoE Secretary General also recalled the statements that the “disagreements between Council of Europe member states must be resolved peacefully through negotiations”.

“Recent direct contacts between the highest authorities of your country and Armenia were promising and should be continued”, Marija Pejčinović Burić said.

The footage of the gruesome killings of Armenian PoWs by Azeri troops was posted online in Azeri social media in early October. The authenticity of the video was validated by the Human Rights Defender and the Defense Ministry using video data base material, comparative analyses of terrain, weather conditions, conversations and uniforms of the troops.