Pasadena Congressman Backs Resolution Urging Azerbaijan to Release All Prisoners of War and Captured Civilians

The bipartisan co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, U.S. Representatives Adam Schiff (D-Pasadena), Gus Bilirakis (R-Florida), Frank Pallone (D-New Jersey), David G. Valadao (R-California), and Jackie Speier (D-California) introduced a resolution calling on Azerbaijan to immediately release all prisoners of war and civilians currently detained in the aftermath of the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh. The resolution was cosponsored by a bipartisan group of 31 House members.

Public reports indicate that as many as 200 Armenian detainees remain in Azerbaijani custody. Under the Geneva Conventions and the Nov. 9 tripartite statement signed by Armenia, Russia, and Azerbaijan, all parties have an obligation to release prisoners. Armenia has fulfilled this obligation, while the government of Azerbaijan continues to misrepresent the status of these POWs in an attempt to justify their continued captivity.

The resolution also calls on the U.S. State Department to engage with Azerbaijani authorities, including through the OSCE Minsk Group, to demand the immediate release of POWs and captured civilians.

“It is unacceptable that more than 100 days after the end of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, hundreds of Armenian service members and civilians remain in Azerbaijani custody, where little is known of their condition, treatment, or well-being,” said Schiff in a prepared statement. “Azerbaijan has an obligation to release these prisoners immediately – the longer the delay, the more it demonstrates their disregard for human rights and international law. Azerbaijan is already guilty of grave atrocities committed during the recent war, and this compounds the problem. The United States must use all diplomatic means to secure the immediate release of these detained POWs and civilians, and to impose consequences on Azerbaijan for their continued violations of human rights.”

In October Pasadena Now reported on reactions from the local Armenian-American community after the country mobilized its military following clashes with Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

According to Reuters News Service, Nagorno-Karabakh serves as an important corridor for European energy supplies via a pipeline that runs through Turkey.

Pasadena has a large Armenian-American community. Nearby Glendale, with a population of more than 200,000 people, has the world’s largest population of Armenians outside of Armenia. According to the 2000 Census, 53,840 people, or 27 percent of the population in Glendale, identified themselves as Armenian.

Other than Glendale and Los Angeles proper, the 2000 Census shows significant Armenian populations residing in Burbank (8,312), Pasadena (4,400), Montebello (2,736), Altadena (2,134), and La Crescenta-Montrose (1,382). The Armenian Genocide Martyrs Monument, the oldest and largest Armenian Genocide memorial in the United States, is located in Montebello.