Canadian FM calls for unconditional release of Armenians prisoners detained in Azerbaijan

ArmInfo. Belows is a Facebook post by the the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC). 

In a letter addressed to the ANCC - amidst the ongoing sham trials of  Armenian POWs and former Artsakh leaders in Baku - Minister Melanie  Joly strongly denounces Azerbaijan's aggressive rhetoric and calls  for:

 The unconditional release of all Armenian prisoners of war and  arbitrarily detained ethnic Armenians in Azerbaijan;

 The respect for Armenia's sovereignty and territorial integrity;

 The safe and dignified return of Armenian civilians to their  ancestral lands and cooperation on demining;

 The preservation of Armenian cultural heritage; and

 The resolution of the Artsakh issue through the OSCE Minsk process,  in line with the Helsinki principles and the need for a just and  durable peace in the South Caucasus. 

On January 17, under the chairmanship of Judge Zeynal Agayev, the  Baku Military Court began considering the "indictment" against the  former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh. Among the accused are three  former presidents of Nagorno-Karabakh: Arkady Ghukasyan, Bako  Sahakyan and Arayik Harutyunyan. Also appearing before the court will  be former Foreign Minister David Babayan, Speaker of the Parliament  David Ishkhanyan, former Commander of the Defense Army General Levon  Mnatsakanyan, General David Manukyan and former State Minister Ruben  Vardanyan.

On January 16, Vardanyan made a statement in which he demanded that  he and his lawyer be given the opportunity to fully prepare for their  defense; that all violations and falsifications be eliminated; that  the trial of him and all the other accused be made public. "I insist  on a maximally open trial with the participation of international  journalists and representatives of humanitarian organizations. I am  convinced that only a real court, and not a trial, will help take a  step forward on the difficult path of building new relations between  our peoples," he emphasized. In conclusion, he demanded that his case  be combined with the cases of other defendants. "More than 400  volumes of my case out of 422 are episodes of a common case.  Separating my case into a separate proceeding is an artificial and  unfounded decision," Vardanyan added.