Lawyer: European Court can demand release of Armenian prisoners

PanARMENIAN.Net - Human rights lawyer Siranush Sahakyan, who represents Armenian captives in international courts, stated that while Baku has officially acknowledged 23 prisoners, factual evidence indicates that at least 80 individuals have been captured.

"These captives have been subjected to enforced disappearance, which is also a war crime," she said, as reported by Aravot.

Referring to trumped-up trials in Baku, Sahakyan noted that international judicial bodies, including the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), are authorized to record violations and demand their release.

"International courts can assess the legal grounds for deprivation of liberty and determine whether the trials that led to these convictions meet fair trial standards," Sahakyan explained.

She emphasized that if political pressure proves insufficient, legally binding court decisions could be secured, ensuring international control of their enforcement.

"If political pressure is not enough, we can obtain legally binding rulings through these courts, which would place their enforcement under international supervision," the lawyer stressed.

Sahakyan believes that a combination of legal and political mechanisms could lead to the release of Armenian captives.

"By integrating legal and political mechanisms, we can secure the release of Armenian prisoners," she said, acknowledging the complexity of the issue due to Azerbaijan’s resources to withstand international pressure.

However, she pointed out that these resources are not limitless.

"In my view, these resources are not inexhaustible. If sustained pressure is applied, and if we intensify international efforts, Azerbaijan’s political leverage will diminish. This imbalance could force Azerbaijan to comply with international demands," Sahakyan added, noting that this approach gives her hope for a resolution.

Regarding the Armenian government's stance, Sahakyan stated that keeping discussions confidential could be justified if it facilitated constructive dialogue, but this approach has yielded no results so far.

"But we see that despite the dialogue, Azerbaijan is not releasing Armenian prisoners," she stressed.

Sahakyan also reminded that while Azerbaijan has returned over 210 captives, it continues to hold individuals captured during the 2020 war, violating the November 9, 2020 ceasefire agreement.

"The silence surrounding these violations is puzzling, as they should be exposed to garner international support. Dialogue alone does not resolve the issue. In fact, this non-transparent dialogue is used to justify the concealment of Azerbaijan’s crimes," she argued.

Sahakyan is convinced that Armenia’s leadership deliberately refrains from fully exposing Azerbaijan’s violations for political reasons.

"The government, for political reasons, avoids presenting the full scope of Azerbaijan’s illegal actions," she concluded.