YEREVAN (Armenpress) — Entrepreneur and investor Dr. Noubar Afeyan, the co-founder of Moderna and founder of Flagship Pioneering venture capital firm, on October 14 at a press conference expressed hope that the Armenian prisoners held unlawfully in Azerbaijan would be released soon.
Speaking to reporters, Afeyan said that over the past two years, continuous efforts have been made to draw attention of the Armenian government, as well as world leaders, to this issue.
“They’re trying, and I hope we’ll succeed. I know this is an important issue, and it’s being raised by various countries,” he said when asked on the matter on the sidelines of the Silicon Mountains 2025 forum in Yerevan.
“Hopefully, this peace process will ultimately lead to peace and justice. I believe peace is essential from every perspective.”
Several prominent Karabakh politicians are among the prisoners held in Azerbaijan.
When the population of Nagorno Karabakh fled to Armenia during the September 2023 Azerbaijani offensive, a number of officials were detained and charged with what has been widely described as fabricated charges, including terrorism. The detainees and POWs include ex-presidents of Nagorno-Karabakh Arkady Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Arayik Harutyunyan, then-Speaker of Parliament Davit Ishkhanyan, former FM Davit Babayan, former Defense Minister Levon Mnatsakanyan, as well as former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan.
