Dear (Editor),
The (Publication Name) has reported on the Armenia-Azerbaijan war from September of last year. While a ceasefire was signed on November 9th that ended the active conflict, the issue of Armenian prisoners of war has yet to be resolved.
According to human rights lawyer Siranush Sahakyan, there are at least 120 Armenian soldiers and civilians who remain in Azerbaijani captivity, with the number growing as a result of post-ceasefire attacks. One of the captives includes Maral Najarian, a Lebanese civilian who resettled in Nagorno-Karabakh after the Beirut blast, and was taken hostage on November 10th as she attempted to retrieve belongings from her home after the ceasefire was signed. There are videos and images circulating of the mistreatment of these captives, which includes torture, humiliation, intimidation, and force, violating the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Yeghishe Kirakosyan, representative of Armenia before the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), stated in a recent interview: "One of the dead Armenians, whose body was recovered recently, was on the list [of Armenian prisoners of war], for whom the ECHR had applied an interim measure in early January. According to the forensic examination, he was killed recently.”
The Azerbaijani government’s refusal to condemn its own actors responsible for these actions has led to a sense of impunity among its servicemen—which is only emboldened by international silence, and continues to endanger the lives of Armenians who remain in captivity. Hugh Williamson, the director at Human Rights Watch for Europe and Central Asia, states, “it is telling that some of the [Azerbaijani] servicemen who carried out these abuses had no qualms about being filmed.”
Instead of adhering to international law, Azerbaijan has doubled down and has announced that many of these prisoners of war will be charged as terrorists and prosecuted as such. The Geneva Convention specifically states that “POWs cannot be prosecuted for taking a direct part in hostilities. Their detention is not a form of punishment, but only aims to prevent further participation in the conflict.” The international community must step up and hold the regime accountable for its failure to act in accordance with the basic standards of humane treatment.
I am asking you today to continue your reporting on this conflict in order to bring awareness to the Armenian prisoners of war and the plight of families throughout Armenia waiting to hear about the status and return of their loved ones—some as young as 18-years-old. No nation can move forward and rebuild without closure on the status and fate of their missing persons, especially as the horrifying and illegal treatment so many have endured is now well documented. On a larger scale, Lead Spokesperson for the External Affairs of the European Union Peter Stano believes the release of the remaining captured servicemen is “important for lasting peace in the region.” Please help bring justice to the POWs, their families, and the Armenian nation as a whole and hold the Azerbaijani government accountable by reporting on this human rights issue.
A ceasefire to end the active hostilities may have been signed, but the war is far from being over.
Thank you,
(Your Name)
Contacts:
NEW:
Slate: joshua.keating@slate.com (has written about Turkish aggression & Azerbaijan's fraudulent elections)
Forbes: tips@forbes.com, readers@forbes.com, Ewelina U. Ochab: https://www.ewelinaochab.com/ (has written about Artsakh before on Forbes, can use contact form to send message at bottom of site)
RadioFreeEurope: Amos: ChappleA@rferl.org (has written about Julfa cemetery for RFERL before as well as Armenia/Armenians)
The Guardian: Shaun Walker shaun.walker@theguardian.com (has written about Safarov for The Guardian)
BBC: Grigor Atanessian: grigor.atanesian@bbc.co.uk
The Guardian: Andrew (wrote about it previously, Moscow correspondent): Andrew.Roth@theguardian.com, international@theguardian.com, observer.letters@observer.co.uk
The Toronto Star: newstips@thestar.ca, city@thestar.ca
BBC (ugh): haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk or they have a form on “what to investigate” at the bottom of this link: https://www.bbc.com/news/10725415
The Globe and Mail: David: dwalmsley@globeandmail.com, Christine: cbrousseau@globeandmail.com
Vice: issues.pitches@vice.com, katie.drummond@vice.com, erika.allen@vice.com
Vox: https://www.vox.com/contact#tip
NY Times: Andrew Kramer (written about attacks) can be contacted here: https://www.nytimes.com/svc/int/functions/contact-reporter, general: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/15/homepage/contact-newsroom.html OR letters@nytimes.com (letter to the editor)
Reuters: https://reuters.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new
Berkeley News: Roqua: rmontez@berkeley.edu
The Atlantic: Form where you can submit letters to the editor (bottom of this page), but you have to provide a link to an article you are ‘responding’ to, so can use their old one on Armenia/Artsakh here.
CTV News: newsonline@ctv.ca, news@ctv.ca, newschannel@ctv.ca, OR form (‘newsbreaker’): https://www.ctvnews.ca/ctv-national-news/newsbreaker
WSJ: wsjcontact@wsj.com, letters to editor: wsj.ltrs@wsj.com
Al Jazeera: https://network.aljazeera.net/contact-us
TIME: Joseph: joseph.hincks@time.com (wrote about it)
Washington Post: Ishaan: Ishaan.Tharoor@washpost.com (wrote about it), Martin: martin.baron@washpost.com (executive editor)
The Economist: Lauren, communications, couldn’t find a better match for now: laurenhackett@economist.com
Associated Press: info@ap.org (can’t find Brian Carovillano’s email)