Armenia`s first ombudsman: Armenian authorities laid a hand in the  current fate of the military-political leadership of Artsakh

ArmInfo. Armenia's official stance on the military-political leadership of Artsakh and other hostages in Baku prisons has a significantly negative impact on the process of their release. This opinion was expressed by Larisa  Alaverdyan, Armenia's first ombudsman and a human rights activist, in  an interview with an ArmInfo correspondent, while commenting on the  passivity of the current Armenian authorities regarding the unjust  trials taking place in Azerbaijan.

At the same time, the human rights activist posed a very important  question: what role did the current Armenian authorities play in the  seizure and unlawful detention of hostages? "This issue must be  investigated sooner or later, and we will eventually obtain a clear  answer to it," Alaverdyan assured.  She expressed the opinion that  Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan's recent statements,  especially regarding the military-political leadership of Artsakh,  indicate that the authorities attitude towards  this problem wasn't a  sudden development. She noted that there could be a vested interest  in some or all of the illegally detained individuals remaining in  captivity.

Referring to Pashinyan's remarks that he does not consider any of  those taken hostage to be his political opponents, Alaverdyan  cautioned against placing trust in the words of the Prime Minister.  She recalled that there have been many analytical materials in the  press indicating that Pashinyan actually saw Ruben Vardanyan as his  main rival.  At the same time, the human rights activist is confident  that the illegal trials in Baku are not just a display of hostility  towards the hostages, but are in fact a trial of the foundations of  international law. "The time will come when this will be described as  a disgrace to the UN, a disgrace to European structures and modern  civilization," the expert emphasized. 

The human rights activist emphasized that Armenia is hindering the  establishment of a unified international consensus on Azerbaijan,  with Armenia's official stance having a highly negative impact.  Alaverdyan drew attention to the fact that there are many statements  by members of the European Parliament and other national parliaments  in support of Armenians illegally detained in Azerbaijan today; the  lack of a unified approach to the application of sanctions against  Azerbaijan is condemned. However, she believes that changes need to  start within Armenia itself, and the Armenian authorities must  clearly state their position regarding the illegal and criminal acts  of Azerbaijan and defend it at the highest levels - both in  international judicial bodies and other political platforms.