{"id":1946,"date":"2026-08-01T14:50:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T14:50:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/?p=1946"},"modified":"2026-08-03T16:37:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T16:37:25","slug":"corsican-assembly-calls-for-immediate-release-of-19-armenian-hostages-held-in-azerbaijan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/?p=1946","title":{"rendered":"Corsican Assembly Calls for Immediate Release of 19 Armenian Hostages Held in Azerbaijan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During its 3031 July 2026 sitting, the Corsican Assembly has adopted a resolution<\/a> calling for the immediate release of 19 Armenian prisoners unlawfully held in Azerbaijan, according to the Artsakh Support Association (ASA). The resolution also reaffirms the right of displaced Armenians from Artsakh to return safely, with dignity, and without obstruction to their homeland, in accordance with the provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The resolution<\/a> specifically names former Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan, former Presidents Bako Sahakyan and Arkadi Ghukasyan, National Assembly Speaker Davit Ishkhanyan, former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, Generals Levon Mnatsakanyan and Davit Manukyan, former Foreign Minister Davit Babayan, along with 11 other Armenian detainees. It characterizes the legal proceedings against them in Baku as arbitrary and inconsistent with international legal standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hovhannes Gevorgyan, the Representative of the Republic of Artsakh in France, said efforts to defend the rights of the people of Artsakh would continue with the support of political parties, civil society organizations, and citizens committed to upholding international law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The resolution comes nearly three years after the ICJ ordered Azerbaijan to ensure the safe, dignified, and unimpeded return of displaced Armenians from Artsakh. According to ASA, that ruling has yet to be implemented, while the continued detention of Armenian political prisoners in Baku represents a serious violation of international human rights obligations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ASA expressed its gratitude to the members of the Corsican Assembly and the Core In Fronte political group, which introduced the resolution. According to official figures, 19 Armenian prisoners remain in Azerbaijani custody. Former Artsakh officials have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from 20 years to life imprisonment. Since the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) closed its Baku office in September 2025, no international humanitarian organization has been able to visit the detainees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MOTION WITH A REQUEST FOR PRIORITY CONSIDERATION<\/a><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

SUBMITTED BY: THE \u201cCORE IN FRONTE\u201d GROUP<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

SUBJECT: SUPPORT FOR ARTSAKH AND FOR THE RELEASE OF ARMENIAN PRISONERS HELD BY AZERBAIJAN<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

HAVING REGARD TO the Charter of the United Nations of 1945,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HAVING REGARD TO Resolution No. 15\/051 AC of the Corsican Assembly of 17 April 2015 concerning the Armenian Genocide,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HAVING REGARD TO Resolution No. 20\/179 AC of 6 November 2020 supporting the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh and recognizing the Republic of Artsakh,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HAVING REGARD TO Resolution No. 22\/181 AC of the Corsican Assembly of 25 November 2022 supporting the Armenian people following the renewed attacks by Azerbaijan,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HAVING REGARD TO Resolution No. 23\/117 AC of the Corsican Assembly of 5 October 2023 supporting Nagorno-Karabakh,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHEREAS the process of eradicating the Armenian people by forces and states inspired by Pan-Turkist ideology began in 1894, intensified with the Genocide of 1915, and has continued to the present day,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHEREAS the international community has a moral and ethical duty to protect the human rights, security, and dignity of peoples in danger,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHEREAS Azerbaijan, in defiance of international norms and historical reality, launched a military offensive against the Republic of Artsakh on 19 September 2023,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHEREAS, after carrying out the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, Azerbaijan now occupies it militarily, politically, and administratively,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHEREAS Azerbaijan bears full responsibility for the forced displacement of more than 120,000 people, who were compelled to flee their homeland and seek refuge in the Republic of Armenia,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHEREAS the International Court of Justice ordered Azerbaijan to ensure the safe, dignified, and unimpeded return of those Armenians of Artsakh who wish to return to their homes,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHEREAS Azerbaijan continues to imprison nineteen Armenians from the Republic of Artsakh, in violation of international human rights conventions,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHEREAS these political prisoners include former Presidents Bako Sahakyan and Arkadi Ghukasyan, as well as Ruben Vardanyan, former State Minister of the Republic of Artsakh, who have been sentenced to twenty years\u2019 imprisonment; and also include General Levon Mnatsakanyan, former Minister of Defence; Davit Manukyan, former Deputy Commander of the Defence Army; Araik Harutyunyan, former President of the Republic; Davit Babayan, former Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Davit Ishkhanyan, President of the Parliament of the Republic of Artsakh, all of whom have been sentenced to life imprisonment,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHEREAS the Republic of Artsakh has a legitimate claim to the establishment of conditions for a political settlement and the exercise of its right to self-determination,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHEREAS there is an urgent need to prevent the recurrence of the genocidal acts of the past,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE CORSICAN ASSEMBLY<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECALLS the historic ties uniting the Corsican nation and the Armenian nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

REAFFIRMS its unwavering support for the Republic of Artsakh and for the Armenian people, who were forcibly expelled from their homeland and are currently refugees in Armenia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EXPRESSES its full solidarity with all Armenian political prisoners arbitrarily imprisoned in Azerbaijan, as well as with their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CONDEMNS the unjust conditions of their detention and the arbitrary judicial proceedings instituted against them in disregard of the principles of international law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DEMANDS the immediate release of all Armenian political prisoners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EMPHASIZES the importance of respecting the right to self-determination, withdrawing all occupying forces, and upholding the right of the Armenian people of Artsakh to return safely, with dignity, without impediment, and under genuine international guarantees, in accordance with the orders of the International Court of Justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CALLS UPON the European Union, its institutions, its Member States, and all the political forces represented within it to employ every political, diplomatic, and legal means available to secure compliance with international humanitarian law and obtain the release of the political prisoners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AFFIRMS the commitment of the Corsican Collectivity to continue and strengthen its actions in support of Armenia and Artsakh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECALLS, as in the case of Corsica and its future, that lasting peace can be built only through respect for the rule of law in the face of occupation, injustice, and arbitrariness, and that solidarity with all peoples subjected to colonization and subjugation is both a political and a humanist duty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During its 3031 July 2026 sitting, the Corsican Assembly has adopted a resolution calling for the immediate release of 19 Armenian prisoners unlawfully held in Azerbaijan, according to the Artsakh Support Association (ASA). The resolution also reaffirms the right of displaced Armenians from Artsakh to return safely, with dignity, and without obstruction to their homeland, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1948,"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-1946","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\/1946","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=1946"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1946\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1955,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1946\/revisions\/1955"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}