{"id":159,"date":"2025-01-08T23:45:48","date_gmt":"2025-01-08T23:45:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/?p=159"},"modified":"2025-01-16T16:07:20","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T16:07:20","slug":"the-armenian-hostages-pows-civilians-and-political-prisoners-still-illegally-detained-by-azerbaijan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/?p=159","title":{"rendered":"The Armenian hostages \u2014POWs, civilians and political prisoners\u2014 still illegally detained by Azerbaijan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During its genocidal attacks on the Armenians of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) in 2020 and 2023, Azerbaijan abducted many Armenian soldiers, civilians, and political leaders. Azerbaijan is currently confirmed to be holding at least 23 Armenian hostages. The true figure may be as high as 100. Read here for more info.<\/a> <\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Of the twenty-three, seven have had their show trials and been convicted (written in red<\/span><\/strong>). The opening session of the remaining sixteen show trials is scheduled to be held on 17 January 2025, at the Baku Military Court.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Political Prisoners<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Davit Babayan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOB: 5 April 1973<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Babayan served as foreign minister from 2021 to 2023 and became a presidential advisor in January 2023. Knowing that he was on Azerbaijan\u2019s wanted list, he announced on September 28, 2023, that he was handing himself over. The following day, he was arrested. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Davit Ishkhanyan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOB: 27 December 1968<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ishkhanyan was elected Republic of Artsakh parliament speaker in August 2023, just one month before Azerbaijan\u2019s offensive. He was abducted on 3 October 2023, in Stepanakert.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Arkadi Ghukasyan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOB: 22 June 1957<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ghukasyan was the Republic of Artsakh\u2019s second president, serving from 1997 to 2007. He was abducted on 3 October 2023, in Stepanakert.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Arayik Harutyunyan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOB: 14 December 1973<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harutyunyan was the fourth president of the Republic of Artsakh, serving from May 2020 until his resignation on 1 September 2023. He was abducted on 3 October 2023, in Stepanakert.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Davit Manukyan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOB: 14 September 1965<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retired General and former deputy commander of the Republic of Artsakh Defense Forces, Manukyan was abducted on 27 September 2023, at the Lachin Corridor border checkpoint while crossing to Armenia together with the remaining civilian population of Artsakh.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Levon Mnatsakanyan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOB: 14 September 1955<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retired General and former minister of defense of the Republic of Artsakh, Mnatsakanyan commanded the Artsakh Defense Army from 2015 to 2018. He was abducted at the Lachin Corridor border checkpoint on 29 September 2023 while crossing to Armenia together with the remaining civilian population of Artsakh.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Bako Sahakyan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOB: 30 August 1960<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abducted on 3 October 2023 in Stepanakert, Sahakyan was the third and longest-serving president of the Republic of Artsakh. He served from July 2007 until May 2020.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Ruben Vardanyan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOB: 25 May 1968<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social entrepreneur, philanthropist, and co-founder of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, Vardanyan served as former State (Prime) Minister of the Artsakh Republic from 4 November 2022 to 23 February 2023. Vardanyan was abducted on 27 September 2023, at the Lachin Corridor border checkpoint while crossing to Armenia together with the remaining civilian population of Artsakh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Website<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Civilian Detainees<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Madat Babayan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOB: 15 September 1952<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The (then) 71-year-old shepherd was declared missing following the Azerbaijani offensive on September 19, 2023. On November 2, Baku announced that he had been detained. <\/p>\n<\/div>

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Rashid Beglaryan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOB: 2 November 1962<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beglaryan was detained on 1 August 2023 during Azerbaijan\u2019s siege of Artsakh while traveling on foot toward the village of Aghavno, which was handed over to Azerbaijan the year prior. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 12 July 2024, at a show trial at the Military Court of Baku, Beglaryan was found guilty of war crimes in connection with his participation in the first Artsakh war in the early 1990s and sentenced to 15 years in prison.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Davit Davtyan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOB: 5 February 1993<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The humanitarian aid worker was abducted (With his associate Gevorg Sujyan) on 11 November 2020, (After the 9 November 2020 Trilateral Ceasefire Announcement stopping the 2020 war on Artsakh), on the Berdzor-Shushi road in Artsakh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 28 July 2021, at a show trial at the Court on Grave Crimes in Baku, Davtyan and Sujyan were convicted of espionage and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Vicken Euljekjian<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOB: 12 July 1979<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 10 November 2020, hours after the 2020 war ceasefire came into effect, Lebanese-born Armenian national Euljekian was abducted in Shushi, Artsakh, with his traveling Lebanese-Armenian friend, Maral Najarian. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 14 June 2021, at his show trial at the Yasamal District Court, Euljekian was convicted of being a terrorist and a mercenary and sentenced to 20 years in prison.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Gevorg<\/strong> Sujyan <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOB: 21 January 1989<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The humanitarian aid worker was abducted (With his associate Davit Davtyan) on 11 November 2020, (After the 9 November 2020 Trilateral Ceasefire Announcement stopping the 2020 war on Artsakh), on the Berdzor-Shushi road in Artsakh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 28 July 2021, at a show trial at the Court on Grave Crimes in Baku, Sujyan<\/strong><\/strong> and Davtyan were convicted of espionage and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Gevorg Sujyan and Davit Davtyan during their show trial<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Vagif Khachatryan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOB: 28 October 1955<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khachatryan was being evacuated from Artsakh by the International Committee of the Red Cross for urgent medical treatment in Armenia when Azerbaijani border guards abducted him at the Lachin Corridor crossing point on 29 July 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo left: At the crossing point<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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His show trial opened at the Yasamal District Court, chaired by Judge of the Baku Military Court Jamal Ramazanov, on October 13, where he was baselessly charged with committing \u201cgenocide\u201d in Meshali village of Khojaly district during the first Artsakh war in the 1990s. On 7 November 2023, he was convicted and sentenced to 15 years. A subsequent appeal was rejected.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Prisoners of War<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Davit Allavertyan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 36
Date of capture: September 2023
Place of capture: Artsakh<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Levon Balayan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 46
Date of capture: September 2023
Place of capture: Artsakh<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Vasili Beglaryan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 31
Date of capture: September 2023
Place of capture: Artsakh<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Erik Ghazaryan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 39
Date of capture: September 2023
Place of capture: Artsakh<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Alyosha Khsorovyan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 56
Date of capture: 3 October 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His (and Lyudvig Mkrtchyan’s) show trial was held in June 2021, in the administrative building of the Yasamal District Court. Khosrovyan was convicted on charges of torturing Azerbaijani hostages captured during the first Artsakh war in the 1990s, and sentenced on 2 August 2021 to 20 years in prison<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Garik Martrosyan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 52
Date of capture: September 2023
Place of capture: Artsakh<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Lyudvig Mkrtchyan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 54
Date of capture: 20 October 2020
Place of capture: Fizuli, Artsakh<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His (and Alyosha Khsorovyan’s) show trial was held in June 2021, in the administrative building of the Yasamal District Court. Mkrtchyan was convicted on charges of torturing Azerbaijani hostages captured during the first Artsakh war in the 1990s and sentenced on 2 August 2021 to 20 years in prison<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Melikset Pashayan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 53
Date of capture: September 2023
Place of capture: Artsakh<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Gurgen Stepanyan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age: 37
Date of capture: September 2023
Place of capture: Artsakh<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During its genocidal attacks on the Armenians of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) in 2020 and 2023, Azerbaijan abducted many Armenian soldiers, civilians, and political leaders. Azerbaijan is currently confirmed to be holding at least 23 Armenian hostages. The true figure may be as high as 100. Read here for more info. Of the twenty-three, seven have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":186,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-about-the-hostages","category-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159","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=159"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":177,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159\/revisions\/177"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}