"Azerbaijan is using the few Armenians who remained in Artsakh after the forced displacement - those who stayed due to health issues - by coercing testimonies from them for trials against Artsakh’s military-political leadership," said Siranush Sahakyan, head of the "Center for International and Comparative Law Center," in an interview with Azatutyun Radiokayan.
Yesterday, Azerbaijan’s state-run “AzerTac” news agency published details of the trial of former State Minister of Artsakh Ruben Vardanyan, stating that two Armenian witnesses residing in Artsakh - Kamo Hayrapetyan and Mushegh Grigoryan - had been interrogated. According to the source, the "witnesses" allegedly claimed that Vardanyan had formed groups to fight against Azerbaijan, established three military warehouses, intensified the process of landmining, and conducted propaganda to encourage fighting against Azerbaijan.
According to Sahakyan, these so-called witnesses are the few Armenians who remained in Artsakh after the mass depopulation and were unable to leave due to health problems. "Now, Azerbaijani authorities are extracting testimonies from them, once again proving that the lives and health of Armenians are at risk under Azerbaijani rule, even if they are not imprisoned," said Sahakyan.
"Our observations that Armenians cannot feel safe and are constantly under coercion in Azerbaijan, even when they are not held in closed institutions were confirmed by yesterday’s trial. We saw that individuals with health issues, who were unable to leave due to their vulnerabilities, are not exercising their rights but are instead being subjected to pressure and coercion in courtrooms. I should note that one of the individuals who testified also suffers from mental health issues, and such vulnerable groups fall under specific protections that states are obligated to uphold. This means that Azerbaijan has not even respected the condition of a person with such issues and has made them part of these fabricated trials, despite the fact that they cannot be considered proper witnesses at all," said Sahakyan.