{"id":1348,"date":"2025-07-16T23:09:43","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T23:09:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/?p=1348"},"modified":"2025-07-30T23:38:43","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T23:38:43","slug":"international-law-expert-highlights-legal-and-diplomatic-paths-to-resolve-issue-of-armenian-detainees-held-in-azerbaijan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/?p=1348","title":{"rendered":"International Law Expert Highlights Legal and Diplomatic Paths to Resolve Issue of Armenian Detainees Held in Azerbaijan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

YEREVAN, July 16 \u2013 Sputnik Armenia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plight of Armenian detainees held in Azerbaijan must be addressed as part of the broader violations of international law and recognized as a major obstacle to normalizing relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, legal expert Aram Orbelyan said in an interview with Sputnik Armenia<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orbelyan, a lawyer and international law specialist, stressed that Armenia cannot achieve meaningful progress through concessions alone. Instead, the detainee issue should be raised consistently on multiple international platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAzerbaijan is using its domestic courts and criminal justice system to assert that Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) is part of its territory. If such rulings are accepted, any political or legal entity that has existed in Artsakh could be criminalized. This includes holding office or supporting the right to self-determination,\u201d Orbelyan explained.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

He emphasized that while these claims may align with Azerbaijani law, they conflict with international legal principles recognizing Artsakh\u2019s right to exist as an independent entity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orbelyan also highlighted serious violations of individual criminal responsibility by Azerbaijan, citing acts ranging from aggressive warfare to crimes against humanity and genocide. He called for the use of comprehensive international legal mechanisms\u2014including the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and ongoing cases at the European Court of Human Rights\u2014to address these issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cResults cannot be limited to the release of prisoners of war. A full legal approach is essential,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The expert warned of a deeper humanitarian crisis, noting discrepancies between official detainee numbers and independent reports, and calling for thorough investigations into the whereabouts and conditions of detainees and missing persons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orbelyan criticized the current diplomatic imbalance, where discussions on reopening regional transport routes outlined in the November 9 trilateral agreement proceed actively, while the detainee issue remains largely ignored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThis imbalance also exists in peace treaty negotiations and border delimitation talks,\u201d he noted, urging Armenia to engage bilaterally with Russia, France, Germany, and the European Union, as well as multilaterally through the UN, OSCE, Council of Europe, and Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Responding to claims that Armenian authorities have agreed to withdraw interstate legal complaints against Azerbaijan at Baku\u2019s insistence, Orbelyan cautioned against viewing this as a step toward resolving detainee issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThis is a multi-layered process. Combining legal and political tools indicates that the detention of these individuals by Azerbaijan may be illegal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

He further pointed out that Azerbaijan\u2019s racist policies have been addressed in international courts, referencing rulings that confirm violations of the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, thereby challenging the fairness of Azerbaijani trials of Armenian detainees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orbelyan recalled that interim court rulings still obligate Azerbaijan to guarantee the freedom of movement for Artsakh residents, which he described as a structural issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cIf normal relations with Azerbaijan are the goal, they must be based on equality and international legal norms, not unilateral concessions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The expert concluded by warning that Armenia currently faces pressure to make concessions without reciprocal respect for its interests and the rule of law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Background<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since January 17, 2025, Azerbaijani courts have been conducting trials of former Artsakh political and military leaders, including former Presidents Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, and Arayik Harutyunyan; former Defense Army Commander Levon Mnatsakanyan; former Foreign Minister Davit Babayan, among others. The case of former State Minister and philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan is being tried separately.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

YEREVAN, July 16 \u2013 Sputnik Armenia The plight of Armenian detainees held in Azerbaijan must be addressed as part of the broader violations of international law and recognized as a major obstacle to normalizing relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, legal expert Aram Orbelyan said in an interview with Sputnik Armenia. Orbelyan, a lawyer and international […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1349,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,12,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advocacy","category-english","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1348"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1348\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1350,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1348\/revisions\/1350"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}