French lawyers, including prominent bar leaders and human rights advocates, have issued a statement condemning Azerbaijan’s ongoing impunity in the treatment of Armenians. Published by the French daily Le Figaro, the declaration stresses that Europe must not remain silent in the face of serious human rights violations occurring in Baku under fabricated charges.

Initiated by the Montpellier Bar Association, the statement warns that the lack of international response risks undermining the foundations of human rights protection in Europe. It cautions against creating a dangerous precedent where a member of the Council of Europe operates outside the law without consequences.

“Seventy-five years after the signing of the European Convention on Human Rights, Europe is facing unacceptable violations that cannot go unanswered,” the lawyers declare. They describe the trial of Armenian hostages in Azerbaijan as a blatant display of state injustice, highlighting the March 13, 2025, European Parliament resolution which labeled the process as merely symbolic and discriminatory.

Despite being party to the Convention since 2002, Azerbaijan is accused of openly mocking its commitments, repeatedly ignoring rulings from the European Court of Human Rights, particularly in cases concerning discrimination and torture of Armenians. This systemic abuse culminates in the unjust prosecution of 23 Armenian hostages, including former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh and civilians detained arbitrarily.

Among them is Ruben Vardanyan, reportedly facing 45 fabricated charges. He has conveyed through his family that the indictment lacks legal legitimacy and that his rights to defense are denied, with restricted access to legal documents and international counsel. Trials are held behind closed doors, with foreign media and observers blocked from attending.

These actions, the statement emphasizes, violate Article 6 of the European Convention, which guarantees a fair and public trial before an impartial tribunal. The lawyers call on French and European bar associations to demand the presence of international observers at these proceedings.

“If European lawyers dared to attend trials of journalists and dissidents in Turkey, Tunisia, and elsewhere, why should Azerbaijan be exempt?” they ask. “Is it such a supreme dictatorship that human rights defenders must retreat?”

They urge European institutions, member states, and civil society to mobilize against what they describe as a judicial scandal. “Europe’s credibility as a defender of human rights is on the line. Now is the time to act so that impunity never becomes the norm,” the declaration concludes.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) reports that Armenian Christian prisoners are often subjected to beatings, psychological abuse, and lack of medical care and food. Religious persecution includes branding removal attempts of cross tattoos by burning.