Human rights lawyer Siranush Sahakyan is preparing to apply to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the case of Ruben Vardanyan, the former State Minister of Artsakh and philanthropist, who was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment in Baku.
In an interview with Radio Azatutyun, Siranush Sahakyan, Director of the International and Comparative Law Center, stated that they have finally succeeded in obtaining Ruben Vardanyan's judgment, which was a necessary prerequisite for initiating proceedings before the European Court.
"We will demonstrate that the charges are politically motivated, that Mr. Vardanyan has never committed any individual criminal act, and that the collective right to self-determination has been unlawfully characterized as terrorism or another related criminal offense. It is, however, evident that there can be no punishment without an act that is clearly prescribed by law," said Siranush Sahakyan.
In the interview, Sahakyan also addressed the judicial proceedings involving the other Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan. She recalled that David Ishkhanyan, the former Speaker of the National Assembly of Artsakh, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, stated in an audio message sent from prison that the 15 Armenian prisoners, including representatives of Artsakh's military-political leadership, have appealed their verdicts before the Court of Appeal in order to preserve the possibility of applying to international judicial bodies.
According to Siranush Sahakyan, by withholding the judgments for an extended period, the Azerbaijani authorities sought to obstruct the submission of international complaints, as the complete texts of the judgments are required to file an application with the ECtHR. The human rights lawyer noted that if Azerbaijan continues to refuse to provide the judgments, they will be able to obtain them through the European Court of Human Rights. According to her, the ECtHR has already applied an interim measure obliging Azerbaijan to submit the judgments concerning the 15 Armenian citizens to the European Court by August 31.
"If the judgments are not provided even to the European Court, we will have grounds to establish a new category of human rights violations. I believe that the Azerbaijani authorities will not take that path and will, at the very least, provide the judgments to the Court," said Siranush Sahakyan.
During the interview, Sahakyan also addressed the humanitarian mission initiated by Veronika Zonabend, Ruben Vardanyan's wife, which envisages a visit to Baku by an international delegation of women with the purpose of visiting the Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijani prisons.
According to Siranush Sahakyan, for security reasons, women of Armenian ethnicity will not be included in the delegation. Prominent women human rights defenders from various countries will join the initiative. Many of them have already expressed their willingness to travel to Baku. The list of participants will be published after the Azerbaijani Ombudsman officially responds to the initiative and the Azerbaijani authorities agree to receive the international delegation.