The trials of Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives held in Azerbaijan are ongoing, and drawing significant public attention. Siranush Sahakyan, the representative of Armenian captives’ interests at the European Court of Human Rights and head of the "International and Comparative Law Center," continues to address questions from Armenian media regarding the issue.
In response to a question from News.am, Sahakyan reiterated that this process will not be recognized by any authorities other than Azerbaijan and will not be deemed legitimate, with the court rulings also considered illegitimate.
“This is an artificial process. We are dealing with sham trials, whose main purpose is to punish the leadership of Artsakh for activities carried out in support of Artsakh’s statehood. Regarding the testimonies, it should be noted that they are extracted under life-threatening conditions, written by security services, and forced upon Armenian captives and detainees,” said Sahakyan.
On the eve of the trials of Armenian captives, several Armenian human rights organizations appealed to international organizations and ambassadors accredited in Baku, calling for monitoring of the judicial proceedings. Sahakyan emphasized that responses are still being received and will be published once the information is consolidated.
“However, there are already known cases where human rights defenders have applied to Azerbaijan, requesting permission to attend court hearings, but they were not granted entry visas,” said Sahakyan.
Siranush Sahakyan also provided additional information, stating that during the very first hearing, Ruben Vardanyan entered a non-guilty plea. This information reached Siranush Sahakyan through Ruben Vardanyan’s family, who received it from the businessman’s lawyer in Azerbaijan, Abraham Berman.
“Vardanyan also proposed a moment of silence to honor the memory of the conflict’s victims, regardless of nationality. The judge stated that such an act is not provided for under the law. Vardanyan then presented two motions: one for the consolidation of cases and another requesting additional time to familiarize himself with the case materials. Azerbaijani media only reported on the motions,” said Siranush Sahakyan.