A complaint has been filed with the ECHR regarding the violation of the rights of 15 Armenians held in Azerbaijan.

ArmInfo. On August 21, 2026, Siranush Sahakyan, a human rights activist and representative of Armenian prisoners of war at the ECHR, filed a collective complaint with the European Court of Human Rights regarding violations of the rights of Armenian prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan.

According to the website of the Center for International and Comparative Law (ICLaw), the complaint was filed regarding violations of the rights of former Presidents of the Republic of Artsakh Bako Sahakyan, Arkady Ghukasyan, Arayik Harutyunyan, former Chairman of the National Assembly David Ishkhanyan, former Foreign Minister David Babayan, Major General and former senior military commander David Manukyan, Lieutenant General and former Minister of Defense of the Defense Army Levon Mnatsakanyan, as well as Madat Babayan, Garik Martirosyan, Levon Balayan, David Allahverdyan, Vasily Beglaryan, Erik Ghazaryan, Gurgen Stepanyan, and Melikset Pashayan.

The complaint raises the incompatibility of the "trials" conducted by Azerbaijan against 15 Armenians with the right to a fair trial guaranteed by Article 6 of the Convention.

The "trials" conducted by the Baku Military Court were sham and predetermined, lacking the fundamental guarantee of an independent and impartial hearing. Furthermore, the military court lacked the necessary jurisdiction to hear and adjudicate cases involving civilians.

At the same time, before and during the trial, high-ranking Azerbaijani officials, including President Ilham Aliyev, publicly portrayed the defendants as "terrorists," "war criminals," and "separatists." "Even before the court's decision on their guilt was issued. A similar approach was reflected in publications in Azerbaijani state and pro-government media, where the charges were presented as established facts. Thus, the public and official position regarding guilt was formed before the conclusion of the trial, undermining the presumption of innocence," the publication states.

The complaint also raises issues regarding violations of the rights of the defense. In particular, the majority of the case materials, consisting of 422 volumes and approximately 105,000 pages, were not available in proper translation. The defense's requests for access to the case materials, translations, sufficient time and resources, and effective communication with their clients were denied or unreasonably delayed.

"Violations of the rights of the defense continued even during the 'sentencing' and appeal phases." The prisoners were only given the opportunity to read the "sentence," which had no official seal or other confirmation of its authenticity. Under these circumstances, it was impossible to verify whether the text provided for review was the full and final version of the "sentence," and its immutability was also not guaranteed. Furthermore, copies of the "sentence" were not provided to the prisoners' families or to the lawyers appointed by Azerbaijan under free legal aid; the latter were only given access to selected excerpts. Despite the obvious restrictions on the right to defense, on August 6, 2026, the appeal court upheld the "sentence" and the sentences imposed, exposing to the international community the systemic ineffectiveness of Azerbaijan's domestic legal mechanisms in ensuring the protection of the rights of ethnic Armenians," the law firm continued in a statement.

The complaint also raises a violation of the principle guaranteed by Article 7 of the Convention, namely, that there can be no crime or punishment without law. The participation of the military-political leadership of Artsakh and other prisoners in military operations or the carrying of weapons cannot in itself be equated to terrorist or other criminal activity and serve as grounds for criminal liability without establishing a specific criminal act imputed to each individual and individual guilt.

"A possible ECHR decision could have both legal and political consequences. At the international judicial level, it would call into question the legitimacy and legal value of the trial and the resulting 'sentence,' which would entail an immediate obligation to eliminate the consequences of violations of the law. International judicial recognition of politically motivated persecution would significantly neutralize Azerbaijan's attempt to lend legal credibility to its own official version of the conflict through sham domestic trials. In such a case, the 'decision' "will lose its significance as a document reflecting Azerbaijan's one-sided historical and political interpretation of the conflict, which will limit the use of this "solution" on international political and diplomatic platforms," the statement said. It should be noted that the exact number of Armenian prisoners of war and hostages held in Azerbaijani prisons is still unknown. Experts estimate there are several hundred. Today, the Azerbaijani authorities confirm the presence of 19 Armenians. Among those held in Azerbaijani captivity, there are 8 former and current representatives of the military-political leadership of Artsakh. These are former presidents of Artsakh; Arkady Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Arayik Harutyunyan, former Foreign Minister Davit Babayan, as well as Parliament Speaker Davit Ishkhanyan, former Commander of the Artsakh Defense Army, General Levon Mnatsakanyan, General David Manukyan, and former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan.

In February, the Baku puppet court sentenced Arayik Harutyunyan, Davit Babayan, Davit Ishkhanyan, Davit Manukyan, and Levon Mnatsakanyan to life imprisonment on trumped-up charges, and Bako Sahakyan, Arkady Ghukasyan, and Ruben Vardanyan to 20 years in prison. The so-called court sentenced the remaining Artsakh residents to up to 15 years in prison.