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"Azerbaijan does not disclose the exact number of Armenian prisoners of war. The number of prisoners is revealed over the time," lawyer Siranush Sahakyan stated on Wednesday during the presentation of the new report on state responsibility of Azerbaijan for torture and inhuman treatment of Armenian prisoners kept in Baku. Sahakyan reminded that no actual and verified information about the number of prisoners and details for their identification were provided as of today. 

"No official confirmation for the latest two cases of capture has been received which speaks of the fact we are dealing with cases of disappearance. The aim of this forced disappearance is to leave the prisoners out of legal protection and and opportunity to offer remedy. In the current situation these prisoners are subject to any kind of arbitrary treatment," said Sahakyan. 

The lawyer noted there have been numerous evidence, including videos, about the fact of concealing the exact number of prisoners. In court proceedings, per Sahakyan, Azerbaijan has not even tried to dispute the veracity of the provided evidence, thus accepting that the cases corresponded to reality and were related to the conflict. Thus far, they have failed to respond to queries what had happened to people documented in videos, whether they are still alive and are under their control or an emergency developments had happened  - in all cases Azerbaijan has the obligation to provide information. 

"At present, all our international partners have the conviction and the proof that the number of prisoners confirmed by Azerbaijan is lower and does not reflect the true picture. There is no dispute here, and the matter is what mechanisms and methods should be adopted to react to this phenomenon which constitutes a war crime," said Sahakyan.