“Today, Nikol Pashinyan effectively admitted that my father is a hostage, just like the others. In effect, Nikol Pashinyan admitted today that he is doing nothing,” Armen Ishkhanyan, the son of former Artsakh National Assembly Speaker Davit Ishkhanyan, who was captured in September 2023, said in an interview with Pastinfo.
It should be noted that during today’s briefing, Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, stated that they are unable to secure Davit Ishkhanyan’s release because members of his political party in Armenia continue speaking about “bringing Artsakh back.”
“In Azerbaijan, they also think: why should we release the prisoners so that there will be one more person attacking us?” Pashinyan stated.
Davit Ishkhanyan’s son, Armen Ishkhanyan, noted that whenever questions are raised regarding the prisoners, Armenian officials say they are acting according to the principle of “do no harm,” but that today, Pashinyan said something that sounded very much like a confession.
“He admitted that they are being kept in hostage status, perhaps even together with Aliyev,” Armen Ishkhanyan emphasized.
He added that they remain in contact with their defence lawyers and have also listened to Davit Babayan’s audio message.
Responding to Pastinfo’s observation that such messages are necessary because the verdicts have not yet been handed to the unlawfully detained individuals, and that they may help Armenian defence lawyers to act more quickly, Ishkhanyan agreed and stated:
“As long as we have authorities who, for the sake of their so-called peace agenda, do not make the return of the prisoners a fundamental precondition, and who conceal their inaction through references to the domestic political situation and fabricated narratives, we will rely on international law and continue the struggle.”