Former Artsakh Human Rights Defender Artak Beglaryan expressed deep concern over the torture and degrading treatment of Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan at a protest outside the ICRC office in Yerevan on Monday, March 3.
“International law is on trial in Baku, but first and foremost, we are the ones on trial,” he declared. “The rights, dignity and freedoms of the Armenian people and Artsakh are at stake.”
The ex-ombudsman blamed collective failures for the detention of Armenian captives in Azerbaijan but stressed that Armenia’s leadership bears primary responsibility for securing their release.
Beglaryan condemned the sham trials and ongoing abuses of Armenian prisoners, urging both Armenian authorities and international organizations to act. He expressed hope that the ICRC would monitor Ruben Vardanyan’s health and persuade him to end his hunger strike in the Baku jail.
“The primary responsibility for securing the release and protection of prisoners lies with the Armenian authorities. Their continued captivity is, above all, a result of the Armenian leadership’s failure and negligence,” he stated.
Recalling the silence of the UN and other international organizations during Azerbaijan’s blockade and military takeover of Artsakh in 2023, he warned of its consequences, as Baku now seeks to stop the ICRC and UN operations in the country.
Beglaryan urged the ICRC and other international human rights organizations to take concrete steps to hold Ilham Aliyev accountable in international courts.
Armenian Deputy FM: POWs issue on agenda, no progress
PanARMENIAN.Net – The issue of Armenian prisoners of war held in Baku remains on the agenda of Armenia’s Foreign Ministry, but the specific actions taken are not satisfactory. This was stated by Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan during an emergency session of the parliamentary standing committee on European integration, in response to a question from MP Armen Gevorgyan of the Armenia faction.
The lawmaker inquired whether the Foreign Ministry had raised the issue of Armenian POWs in Baku through diplomatic channels, including in discussions with the EU, Sputnik Armenia reports.
“In light of these ongoing trials, what specific steps can the EU take to ensure that Azerbaijani authorities comply with their internationally recognized obligations?” Gevorgyan asked.
Hovhannisyan responded that the Foreign Ministry has consistently kept this issue on the agenda, raising it in all meetings and interactions with the EU.
“Action is taken—can we say they are satisfactory? No. But we must continue our work. As you know, diplomacy involves confidential and behind-the-scenes processes, and in this regard, work continues both with Brussels and with member states,” the deputy minister stated.
On February 28, Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan stated that the images from the trial of Armenian captives in Baku have left a profound impact. He announced that efforts are ongoing to ensure the return of all captives without exception. “Throughout this period, the government has employed all available tools to seek a solution. The solution is for all captives to be freed; that is, for the currently confirmed 23 captives to return to Armenia,” he noted, emphasizing the sensitivity of the issue.
Since January 17, Azerbaijan has been conducting trials against former military and political leaders of Artsakh. The accused include former presidents Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, and Arayik Harutyunyan, former Defense Army commander Levon Mnatsakanyan, former Foreign Minister Davit Babayan, and others.
The case of former state minister Ruben Vardanyan is being handled separately. Despite his request to merge it with the others, the court decided to review 400 out of 422 volumes separately. On February 26, reports emerged that Vardanyan’s health had severely deteriorated after he declared a hunger strike in an Azerbaijani prison on February 19.
See also: MFA of Armenia Statement on the issue of the release of Armenian prisoners of war, hostages and other detained individuals held in Azerbaijan
Pashinian Defends Caution Over Armenian Prisoners In Azerbaijan
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian insisted on the weekend that his government is doing its best behind the scenes to try to secure the release of eight former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh and other Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan.
“All possible diplomatic efforts are being made in that direction,” Pashinian told journalists in Yerevan.
When asked to shed light on those efforts, he said, “We raise this issue in all negotiations, and we also raise these issues in negotiations with Azerbaijan, and efforts are being made in that direction that are not visible.”
“I am 100 percent sure that saying that [publicly] would only damage our efforts and damage those people,” he added.
Pashinian earlier gave the same explanation for the Armenian government’s failure to explicitly condemn the trials of the former Karabakh leaders that began in Baku on January 17. His detractors dismissed it, saying that he was simply afraid of angering Baku.
It was not until February 24 that the government denounced the “mock trials” through Foreign Ministry Ararat Mirzoyan. The Armenian Foreign Ministry stepped up Mirzoyan’s carefully worded criticism four days later as it faced protests by activists accusing Yerevan of doing little to get Baku to free the Armenian captives.
“We did not want to provoke torture, the use of prohibited means, etc. with our statements,” said Pashinian. “Why are we making a statement now? Because we see that we cannot provoke anymore because [torture] has already happened?”
He referred to images of Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian businessman and philanthropist, appearing before a military court in Baku on February 24 one week after the start of his latest hunger strike. Vardanyan, who briefly served as Karabakh premier from November 2022 to February 2023, looked frail and had apparent bruises on his face. His appearance added to public fury with the Armenian government’s cautious stance.
Vardanyan’s American lawyer, Jaren Genser, expressed on February 26 serious concern at his client’s “deteriorating health,” urging Baku to “postpone the trial through the remainder of his hunger strike.” Genser also called on world leaders and “especially” Pashinian to condemn the “show trial.”