"Currently, 23 people are in prison, 5 of the 23 are related to the 2020 war, and the remaining cases occurred in 2023. The number 23 also includes the former leaders of Artsakh, whose number is eight. That is, we have 8 political prisoners and 15 civilian prisoners and prisoners of war," said Siranush Sahakyan, the representative of the interests of Armenian prisoners at the ECHR, head of the “International and Comparative Law Center,” in an interview with Channel 5.
In the interview, the human rights defender notes that these individuals are hostages, and the dynamics of the ongoing negotiations also generate additional evidence that without meeting political demands, their release will not take place.
"It is positive that the international community is making very targeted calls, disputing the fact that these individuals are criminals or terrorists, and reaffirming in its calls that all of them, regardless of status discussions, are subject to immediate release. The legal and factual grounds for keeping them in prison are simply absent," said Sahakyan.