“The issue of the return of prisoners has long been outside the humanitarian sphere, it is political” Siranush Sahakyan

Siranush Sahakyan, head of the Center for International and Comparative Law, pointed out the difficult psychological situation of the families of Armenian prisoners held in Baku during an interview with ABC Media. They no longer receive verified information about their relatives. “This creates great uncertainty. They also see the psychological suffering that is escalating as a result of this severance of ties, which leads to despair,” said the human rights defender.

Siranush Sahakyan is constantly in touch with the captured military-political leadership of Artsakh and the family members of the other hostages, and, in her opinion, the news of the closure of the International Committee of the Red Cross has depressed them, as they have not received videos or letters since June of this year, do not know their health condition, what they need, etc.

In an interview with the media outlet, the human rights defender once again emphasized that Armenia has alternatives to visit the captives and maintain contact with them, one of which is to form a delegation through the consulates operating in Azerbaijan and visit the hostages on behalf of Armenia, and the other option is to delegate the function of visiting to another country.

"We had applied to the Swiss government. They have a positive approach to the issue and do not rule out organizing visits with their involvement, provided that the application is officially submitted by the Armenian government. This is a conventional requirement. Indeed, the party applying for such a request cannot be non-governmental organizations or family members. This is the right of the state, and it is the state that should apply to the other state. Therefore, we expect the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take appropriate measures in this direction. The issue of the return of the captives has long been outside the humanitarian sphere; it is a political one that the Armenian government should deal with," said Siranush Sahakyan.

According to her, those who hold citizenship of the Republic of Armenia should be concerned about the state’s approach towards its citizens, because in each case, the state’s care is mandatory and they should always feel it.