Armenian MP calls on OSCE PA to send mission to Baku

PanARMENIAN.Net - During the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s winter session, Armenian MP and delegation member Lilit Galstyan delivered a speech highlighting serious violations and the unfair nature of trials held in Baku. She urged the OSCE PA to send a monitoring mission to oversee the proceedings against Armenian prisoners of war (POWs) and the political-military leadership of Artsakh.

Galstyan stressed that Armenian POWs in Baku are being prosecuted as terrorists solely for being Armenian.

"I express my deep concern over the hostage-taking of Armenian POWs, including Artsakh’s political-military leadership, in Baku. They are victims of Azerbaijan’s aggression in September 2023, which forcibly displaced 120,000 ethnic Armenians.

Our urgent attention must be directed toward the trials that began in Baku in January 2025. These proceedings cast serious doubt on Azerbaijan’s commitment to fair trials. Despite Azerbaijan’s membership in the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, these trials are marred by severe violations.

Undeniable evidence has surfaced showing that detainees are subjected to torture. They are being prosecuted as terrorists solely based on their Armenian identity.

Despite Baku's claims of open trials, international organizations, including the media, are denied access.

Renowned humanist Ruben Vardanyan, who has no military background, is being tried in a military court, facing charges that could lead to a 200-year sentence. His ability to review the charges against him has been severely restricted.

Given these circumstances, I officially propose that the OSCE PA deploy a monitoring mission to oversee these trials.

This mission will serve the following purposes:

- Verify whether the trials comply with international legal standards.

- Ensure transparency in judicial proceedings.

- Demonstrate the international community’s commitment to human rights.

- Send a clear warning that human rights violations will not go unpunished.

OSCE PA intervention will send a strong message that the international community will not remain silent, and Azerbaijan must be held accountable for its actions," Galstyan stated.

In September 2023, following a nine-month blockade and the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh’s entire Armenian population, Azerbaijan captured former Artsakh Presidents Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, and Arayik Harutyunyan, as well as former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, Foreign Minister Davit Babayan, and several other former leaders. The fabricated charges against them could result in life imprisonment. The trial of Artsakh’s leaders began in Baku on January 17.