YEREVAN (Azatutyun) — Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan on Monday, February 24, criticized for the first time the trials of former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh jailed in Azerbaijan.
Mirzoyan also complained that Baku is reluctant to recognize Armenia’s territorial integrity when he spoke during a session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
“One year ago, in my statement I made extensive references to the challenges that Armenia was facing,” he said. “Unfortunately, most of those challenges still remain unresolved despite the tremendous efforts of my country. Statements coming from our eastern neighbor continue to question the territorial integrity of Armenia, despite the recognition of each other’s territorial integrity based on the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration.”
“Moreover, as we speak, the mock trials against 23 Armenian individuals, who are arbitrarily detained, are taking place in Azerbaijan with disregard of human rights standards for due process,” added Mirzoyan.
An Azerbaijani military court began the separate trials of Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian billionaire and philanthropist, and 15 Karabakh Armenians on January 17. The defendants facing a long list of accusations include three former Karabakh presidents — Arayik Harutyunyan, Bako Sahakyan and Arkady Ghukasyan. They were all captured by Azerbaijan during or shortly after its September 2023 military offensive that forced Karabakh’s entire population to flee to Armenia and restored Azerbaijani control over the region.
In contrast with an outpouring of support for the captives voiced by prominent public figures in Armenia and its worldwide diaspora, the Armenian government pointedly declined to condemn their trials. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan claimed later that explicit condemnation would only harm them. Critics say that he is simply afraid of angering Baku.
