PACE rapporteur says 5,000 soldiers died from sickness and malnutrition in Azerbaijan's Army

The rapporteur said rights of soldiers are violated in a number of Council of Europe member states. He stressed the importance of establishing military Ombudsman institution to watch human rights of members of armed forces.

The reports reads in Azerbaijan section that 5 000 soldiers are thought to have died from sickness, malnutrition. However, most of PACE members were not in favour of applying all human rights enjoyed in civil life in armed forces as well.

The correspondent of Europe bureau of APA reports from the session that members of Azerbaijani delegation Aydin Mirzazadeh, Elmira Akhundova and Ganira Pashayeva made a speech related to the report.

Mr. Mirzazadeh said that soldiers like civilians should also enjoy fundamental human rights stated in the European Convention. He also stressed the importance of establishing military Ombudsman institute to receive complaints made by soldiers in anonymous way.

Ms. Akhundova said she does not agree to the statistics shown in the report and refuted the information that so far, 5 000 soldiers have died from sickness, malnutrition in Azerbaijan. She noted that this statistics was quoted untested reports of NGOs.

She admited that a soldiers dies almost every day in Azerbaijan's Army but not from sickness or malnutrition but from bullet shot by Armenian armed forces.

Ms. Akhundova advised to carefully consider some recommendations in the report and did not advocate members of armed forces having right to have party affiliation. She also considered it undesirable to conscript young women bearing in mind national and historical traditions of some member countries.

Armenian parliamentarian Hermin Nagdalian said that Azerbaijani Army officer Ramil Safarov killed Armenian officer with an axe.

Ganira Pashayeva responding to him, explained the cause of this incident.

She said Ramil Safariov is from internally displaced family, most of his relatives were killed by Armenians.

"His native land has been occupied by Armenian armed forces. This fact naturally had psychological impact on Ramil Safarov," she concluded.