Karen Andreasyan presents to Secretary General of the Council of Europe the gross violations of international humanitarian law by Azerbaijan against Armenian captives being illegally held in Azerbaijan

Minister of Justice Karen Andreasyan met with Secretary General of the Council of Europe Maria Pejčinović Burić in Italy. In the beginning of the meeting, the Minister expressed his gratitude for the efforts of the Council of Europe and particularly the personal efforts of the Secretary General aimed at ending the armed clashes during and after the 44-day war in Artsakh, eliminating the humanitarian consequences of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as returning prisoners of war.

The Minister comprehensively presented to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe the gross violations of international humanitarian law by Azerbaijan against Armenian captives being illegally held in Azerbaijan, the refusal of Azerbaijan to return the captives, as well as transmitted the factual data confirmed under the preliminary investigation and the testimonies of survivors about the tortures, other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians captured and repatriated by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, as well as the details of numerous cases of enforced disappearance, extra-judicial killings and illegal proceedings. Karen Andreasyan requested that the Secretary General of the Council of Europe continue using all the mechanisms existing within the scope of the Council of Europe for immediate return of the Armenian captives to the homeland.

At the end of the meeting, the Minister also presented to the Secretary General the priorities of the agenda for large-scale reforms in the justice sector.

Within the scope of the Conference, the Minister also had meetings with his counterparts of Council of Europe Member States. During the meeting with Minister of State at the Department of Justice of Ireland James Browne, the advanced experience of Ireland in the development of a penitentiary policy and the opportunities for further deepening of co-operation within the scope of the sector-specific reforms underway in the Republic of Armenia were discussed.

On 13-14 December, Minister of Justice Karen Andreasyan participated in the Conference of Ministers of Justice of Council of Europe Member States entitled "Crime and Criminal Justice - The Role of Restorative Justice in Europe" in Venice, Italy.