Armenian government must raise issue of prisoners at international level - Gegham Stepanyan
ArmInfo.A group of citizens today, April 11, held protests in front of the UN buildings and the embassies of France, Russia and the United States in Yerevan demanding the immediate release of Armenian prisoners of war and hostages illegally held in Azerbaijan.
Artsakh Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan, during the protests in front of the UN office in Armenia, recalled that various groups, parents of prisoners and concerned citizens have repeatedly raised the issue of compatriots illegally held in Baku prisons, but this issue should be resolved at the international level by the Armenian government.
The human rights activist emphasized that the main goal of today's protests is to draw the attention of the relevant Armenian agencies to the need to release and clarify the fate of prisoners and missing persons before the UN Climate Conference (COP29) in Baku.
"We notice that the closer the day of the conference, the more actively this issue is raised in the international arena. For example, yesterday we learned that the European Parliament is going to discuss this problem. Now all the attention of the international community is focused on Azerbaijan, and we must use this chance to demand that Azerbaijan fulfill its obligations in the field of human rights. If we do not raise these issues, it will only strengthen its impunity," Stepanyan noted.
At the same time, the human rights activist admitted that he does not know the reason why the Armenian authorities do not raise the issue of the return of Armenians held hostage in Azerbaijan. According to him, the recent session of the UN General Assembly was an excellent opportunity to raise this humanitarian issue and attract the attention of the international community. "I believe that Armenia should take more active steps to raise these issues in the international arena. This is an issue that we have no right to remain silent about. It is necessary to exert even more pressure. If we see that the Armenian government is not taking appropriate steps, we must ensure that the issue of releasing prisoners and clarifying the fate of missing persons is included in the agenda of international organizations. All necessary measures must be taken to ensure that the Armenian authorities keep this issue in the spotlight," Stepanyan said.
The Artsakh Ombudsman also believes that in the presence of prisoners and an unspecified number of missing compatriots, the participation of the Armenian authorities in the UN Climate Summit in Baku is unacceptable. He expressed hope that before the conference, various international organizations will demand the release of prisoners and hostages illegally held in Baku prisons without any conditions. Stepanyan informed that the letters that were sent today to the above-mentioned diplomatic missions also express demands for the right of the Artsakh population to return to their homeland, as well as the preservation of the cultural heritage located in Artsakh. Stepanyan also touched upon the issue of the condition of prisoners held in Baku prisons.
According to him, the only way to obtain information about the health of prisoners is through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). "This channel is currently working directly with the relatives of prisoners. And that is why I personally communicate with their relatives in order to obtain any information about prisoners. There is no other way to obtain information about their condition. But let's record that prisoners in the past and released prisoners reported inhumane treatment of them by Azerbaijanis. From this we can state that any person of Armenian nationality in a Baku prison will face the same treatment," the human rights activist explained.
He added that international human rights organizations raise issues of torture and inhuman treatment of prisoners in Baku prisons on a daily basis, regardless of their nationality. From the information provided, as the human rights activist noted, one can conclude that the treatment of Armenian prisoners will be more cruel.
It should be noted that on the eve of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29), which will be held in November 2024 in Azerbaijan, protests have begun in different countries around the world demanding the immediate release of Armenian prisoners of war and hostages illegally held in Azerbaijan.
In response to these protests, protests were also held on October 11 near the buildings of the UN Office in Armenia, the RA Foreign Ministry, as well as the embassies of the Russian Federation, the French Republic and the United States of America in Armenia. During the protests, letters with similar demands were handed over to the addressees. The initiative was joined by former ombudsmen of the Republic of Artsakh Yuri Hayrapetyan, Ruben Melikyan, Artak Beglaryan, as well as former ombudsmen of the Republic of Armenia Arman Tatoyan and Larisa Alaverdyan.
On December 12, 2022, the enemy blocked the lifeline between Armenia and Artsakh - the Lachin Corridor. The culmination of the almost 10-month total blockade was the final stage of aggression against Artsakh, unleashed by the enemy on September 19-20, 2023. Left alone with an enemy tens of times larger in numbers, Artsakh fell. The process of violent subjugation of the rebellious Republic by the enemy began. The entire indigenous Armenian population of Artsakh was forced to embark on the path of exodus. It was on this path of mass exodus that a number of representatives of the NKR military-political leadership were taken hostage on September 27-28, 2023.
The first, on September 27, at the Hakari Bridge on the border of Armenia and Artsakh, was the famous philanthropist and humanist Ruben Vardanyan, who was illegally detained and sent to a Baku prison. This was followed by the arrests of seven more former political and military figures of Artsakh: former presidents of Artsakh Arkady Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Arayik Harutyunyan, former Minister of Foreign Affairs David Babayan, as well as the speaker of the parliament David Ishkhanyan, former commander of the Artsakh Defense Army, General Levon Mnatsakanyan, General David Manukyan. Moreover, the exact number of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians held by the Aliyev regime in Baku prisons is still unknown. The figure ranges from several dozen to several hundred