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