Armenians in Baku prisons suffering for patriotism - opposition MP

ArmInfo. Armenians, from unknown individuals to presidents Bako Sahakyan and Arkady Ghukasyan, are currently in illegal captivity in Baku only because they sincerely loved their homeland and dedicated their lives to building the statehood of Artsakh, strengthening its position and protecting the interests of the Armenian people. Tigran Abrahamyan, a member of  the National Assembly of Armenia from the opposition faction "I have the honor", wrote about this on his Facebook page in connection with the statement of the Azerbaijani side on the transfer of the so-called criminal cases against, including the military-political leadership of Artsakh, to court.

"This means that the creative-propaganda preparation in Baku is complete, and many unpleasant scenes should be expected in the near future," Abrahamyan explained.

In this context, the deputy decided to recall the contribution of  each of these individuals to the development of Artsakh. Thus,  Abrahamyan noted that Generals Levon Mnatsakanyan and David Manukyan went through the entire path of life and death, considering the defense of the Motherland as their mission. "In turn, the speaker of the NKR parliament David Ishkhanyan considered it his duty to serve Artsakh and its people with personal devotion, starting with volunteer activities and ending with public service," the MP continued.

Touching upon the activities of former Artsakh Foreign Minister David Babayan, he noted that he had received many delegations, but could never have imagined that one day Artsakh would be under occupation, and people with Armenian surnames would proudly declare that their homeland is Azerbaijan.  "And former Artsakh State Minister Ruben  Vardanyan, moving to Artsakh, could not have imagined even in his worst dreams that Artsakh would be in such shackles," the MP noted. 

Abrahamyan also stressed that, despite having many questions for one of the presidents of Artsakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, he, like any Armenian, should not be in a Baku prison. "The fate of no Armenian should be decided by the whims of the Turks, and any scene with him cannot be pleasant for a normal Armenian.  Freedom for all Armenians in Baku prisons," Abrahamyan concluded.

The day before, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan reported on the transfer to court of so-called cases against 15 Artsakh residents held hostage in Baku on fabricated criminal cases.  Azerbaijani prosecutors have concocted as many as 1,289 criminal cases against Artsakh residents captured during the aggression against the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in the fall of 2023, which were subsequently combined into one proceeding. It is noteworthy that the list does not include the estate of philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan. According to Vardanyan's team of lawyers, the Azerbaijani puppet justice system is preparing the ground for the philanthropist's life imprisonment. 

The exact number of Armenian prisoners of war and hostages held in Azerbaijani prisons is still unknown.  According to official data, there are 33 of them, but according to experts, there are several hundred. Among those held in Azerbaijani captivity 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 Minister of Foreign Affairs David Babayan, as well as the speaker of parliament David Ishkhanyan, former commander of the Artsakh Defense Army, General Levon Mnatsakanyan, General David Manukyan and former state minister Ruben  Vardanyan.