Samvel Karapetyan: Armenian prisoners of war will not return from Baku while Pashinyan is in power

Arminfo.  Armenian prisoners of war will not return from Baku as long as Nikol Pashinyan is serving as Armenia’s prime minister. Leader of the “Strong Armenia” bloc and businessman Samvel Karapetyan stated this on September 11 in a conversation with journalists before another court hearing.

That is precisely why, the politician explained, their political force constantly speaks about the need for change in the country. “Until these changes take place, these people will suffer in Baku’s prisons. If we were in power, the prisoners would be returned very quickly. We would do this using the capabilities at our disposal, which Pashinyan does not have,”

- Karapetyan assured.

Speaking about why they would not use these capabilities now, the leader of the “Strong Armenia” bloc explained that they can work only if they have “levers of power.”

It should be noted that the exact number of Armenian prisoners of war and hostages held in Azerbaijani prisons remains unknown. Experts estimate that there are several hundred of them. Today, the Azerbaijani authorities confirm that they are holding 19 Armenians. Among those held in Azerbaijani captivity are 8 former and current representatives of the political and military leadership of Artsakh. They include former Artsakh presidents Arkady Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan and Arayik Harutyunyan, former Foreign Minister David Babayan, as well as parliament speaker David 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, David Babayan, David Ishkhanyan, David Manukyan and Levon Mnatsakanyan to life imprisonment on fabricated charges, while Bako Sahakyan, Arkady Ghukasyan and Ruben Vardanyan were sentenced to 20 years in prison.  The so-called court sentenced the other Artsakh Armenians to up to 15 years in prison.