Armenia’s government refrained from commenting on Friday regarding the trials in Azerbaijan of eight former Artsakh leaders and eight other Armenian prisoners, which human rights activists in Yerevan condemned as a miscarriage of justice.
The 16 defendants, captured by Azerbaijan during and after its September 2023 military offensive in Artsakh, include former Artsakh presidents Arayik Harutyunyan, Bako Sahakyan, and Arkady Ghukasyan, along with Davit Ishkhanyan, as well as Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian-born billionaire and former Artsakh state minister. The offensive led to the mass displacement of Artsakh Armenians to Armenia and restored Azerbaijani control over the region.
State-controlled Azerbaijani media shared images of the defendants being transported from prison to a military court in Baku. Azerbaijani prosecutors have charged them with crimes including genocide and war crimes. Vardanyan is reportedly being tried separately, with his charges totaling 42, some of which could result in life imprisonment.
The trials will be held behind closed doors, a decision criticized by human rights lawyer Siranush Sahakyan, who advocates for the release of at least 23 Armenian prisoners still detained in Azerbaijan.
In a statement relayed through his family, Vardanyan rejected the charges against him as politically motivated and claimed Azerbaijani authorities had fabricated evidence and attributed false testimony to him. He called for public hearings.
While Vardanyan and the other captives have garnered widespread support from prominent Armenian public figures and the Diaspora, the Armenian government has remained silent. Neither Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s office nor the Foreign Ministry issued statements on the trials. Lawmakers from Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party also declined to comment.
Sahakyan called the government’s silence “inadmissible” and suggested it was an attempt to avoid provoking Azerbaijan’s leadership. She argued that Yerevan’s muted response could weaken international advocacy for the captives.
Armenian opposition groups and exiled Artsakh leaders in Armenia have criticized the government’s assurances of efforts to secure the captives’ release. On Friday, two former Artsakh leaders led a demonstration in Yerevan, demanding stronger international pressure on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Protesters rallied outside the UN office and marched to the Foreign Ministry, calling for more decisive action.
Artak Beglaryan, a former Artsakh state minister and human rights ombudsman, emphasized the need for political will from Armenia: “International structures and governments are clear—if this issue is not on Armenia’s agenda, they won’t prioritize it either.”
Gegham Stepanyan, the current Artsakh ombudsman, echoed the criticism. “The Armenian authorities claim they are raising this issue in negotiations, but these efforts are not visible, to say the least,” he said.
