The European Court of Human Rights had required Azerbaijan to provide, by 31 August 2026, information concerning the conditions of detention, health condition, and judicial proceedings involving Armenian prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan. The documents submitted by Azerbaijan were transmitted to the Armenian side in September. Their examination shows that the materials submitted do not contain all the information requested by the Court. This was stated by Siranush Sahakyan, Head of the International and Comparative Law Center, in an interview with Sputnik Armenia.
In particular, Azerbaijan has not provided the ECtHR with the judgments concerning Armenian prisoners of war. Instead, an extract was submitted, which does not contain the complete information requested by the Court. “Azerbaijan also did not provide the photographs to the ECtHR that would present the actual condition of the Armenian prisoners of war. Sahakyan considers this circumstance highly concerning, given that in the past, albeit in small numbers, such photographs had been submitted. I can say that, to the extent that some data has been provided, it mostly concerns health-related matters, however, the extent to which they are complete, and the extent to which the doctors carrying them out acted independently and objectively, are matters subject to discussion,” said Sahakyan.
She also informed that the European Court of Human Rights has given the Armenian side until 6 October to examine the documents submitted by Azerbaijan and to provide their observations regarding the information presented. The human rights defender assures that there are numerous observations and issues to be presented to the ECtHR, and that there will be more: “After that, the European Court may request additional information from Azerbaijan, it may establish the failure to comply with, or improper compliance with, the obligation to submit a report to the Court,” Sahakyan said.
During the interview, Sahakyan also addressed Ruben Vardanyan’s latest public statement, in which he addresses Azerbaijan’s Human Rights Commissioner Sabina Aliyeva. The latter had previously expressed willingness to support the protection of the rights of Armenian convicts.
Regarding Vardanyan’s appeal, Siranush Sahakyan notes that the issues raised by Armenian prisoners of war not only in this but also in all other statements concern human rights, which Azerbaijan, presenting itself as a country aspiring to democracy, has incorporated and made part of its domestic law. The responsibility to ensure compliance with these guarantees lies precisely with Azerbaijan’s Human Rights Commissioner: “I would particularly like to emphasize the absolute isolation. On the one hand, the conditions described lead to the Armenian prisoners of war being absolutely isolated from the outside world, which gives rise to psychological and physical problems. This is combined with the problem of not receiving medical care, under conditions in which targeted harm is caused to the health of these persons, while, on the other hand, the minimum elements related to humanity are not respected,” Sahakyan said.
She also emphasized that Ruben Vardanyan’s voice message documents the situation, and that without the relevant information, international partners cannot formulate positions or exert pressure on Azerbaijan.