UN session highlights sham trials of ethnic Armenians in Azerbaijan

PanARMENIAN.Net - At a discussion titled "Human Rights in Azerbaijan: Trials and Detention of Ethnic Armenians" at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, international human rights activists condemned Azerbaijan’s trials against Armenian political and military figures, labeling them as fabricated and a form of political retribution.

International law expert and former Secretary General of the International Federation for Human Rights, Philippe Galfayan, stated: "These individuals symbolize resistance; they sought to preserve the existence of the Republic of Artsakh. They refused to surrender to the Azerbaijani administration. That is why they are now on trial, and their prosecution will continue in the coming months," Aravot.am reports.

Galfayan recalled that Azerbaijan never recognized the results of the Nagorno-Karabakh independence referendum. He emphasized that Artsakh functioned as a democratic state for three decades, but in 2020, Azerbaijan shifted the issue back to the battlefield through military force.

"In 2020, Azerbaijan decided that negotiations had reached an impasse and resorted to military action. They then won the war. By December 2023, they had completely blockaded the people of Artsakh. Nine months later, Azerbaijani authorities prosecuted 23 individuals. Some are political prisoners, others are military captives, and some are prisoners of conscience—the former leadership of Artsakh's military and political structure," Galfayan stated.

He underscored that the trials in Baku against former Artsakh officials serve clear political objectives.

Human rights defender and president of the International and Comparative Law Center, Siranush Sahakyan, noted in her speech that Azerbaijan’s judicial system is controlled by the executive branch, allowing trials to be used as a tool for political pressure.

"Azerbaijan’s legal system is one of the least independent and most corrupt in the world. Power is concentrated in the hands of the executive, ensuring that the judiciary serves political authority rather than justice. Numerous reports highlight this reality. They document that the Azerbaijani judicial system takes direct orders from the presidential administration, especially in politically sensitive cases.

The judges handling cases against Armenian captives act in alignment with Azerbaijan’s leadership. These are the same judges who have consistently issued politically motivated rulings against Azerbaijani opposition figures, journalists, and human rights defenders. Therefore, there is no scenario in which Azerbaijani judges, operating in an environment of discrimination against Armenians, can render impartial decisions. In this context, there is no doubt that Armenian prisoners are subjected to sham trials, serving Azerbaijan’s political goals. These trials reinforce Azerbaijani narratives, silence Armenian voices, and legitimize human rights abuses under the guise of legal proceedings," Sahakyan stressed.

U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz has stated that during his conversation with Azerbaijani Presidential Advisor Hikmet Hajiyev, he urged the release of Armenian detainees and the completion of a peace agreement with Armenia.

Ruben Vardanyan’s lawyer, Jared Genser, has called on Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan to closely examine statements by U.S. President Donald Trump and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.