The Armenian government can do more to secure the release of Armenian prisoners. This was stated by Jonathan Spangenberg, the President of the Central Council of German Armenians, in an interview with NEWS.am.
“My personal view is that the government is not taking this issue seriously, meaning they would rather let it be forgotten. There is a society that needs to play a role because the place of Armenian citizens is not in Baku. If this were happening in other countries, there would be much more public outcry. Armenians also have one advantage – the Diaspora, whose representatives can raise the issue of Armenian prisoners in their respective countries. Armenians could be doing much more and are not fully utilizing their potential,” said Spangenberg.
Commenting on Ruben Vardanyan’s “charges,” Spangenberg noted that the judicial process does not meet international legal standards: “The charges are fabricated. We must show the international community that these accusations are false and fake. Dictators fear only one thing – the exposure of their lies, and this should be the target. Real pressure must be applied, starting with sanctions. There will come a point when the price of releasing our hostages will be too high for Aliyev.”
For more details, watch the video (In Armenian).