The Arakan Army has released a video showing three Myanmar security officers captured in the war in Rakhine state appealing for talks to win their freedom, a move that has divided experts over whether displaying the captives violates international laws on prisoners of war, RFA reports.

Some observers saw the video release as a way to inform family members that the captives are still alive that also could prompt negotiations on a prisoner exchange. Others said making the captured men talk violated their privacy — if not Geneva Convention rules on the questioning of war captives, the report said.

The Arakan Army (AA) released the video on Sept. 19 in which the three Prisoners of War (POWs) — a battalion commander, a captain, and a police captain — tell their family members not to worry about them and urge senior military commanders to secure their release via negotiations.