Yerevan avoids filing ECHR complaint on Artsakh leaders

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia currently has four inter-state complaints against Azerbaijan at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The latest complaint includes violations of the rights of the former leadership of Artsakh, covering not only the issue of captives but also property confiscation, repatriation, and other legal concerns. This was stated by Siranush Sahakyan, the legal representative of Armenian captives at the ECHR.

She clarified that Armenia has not filed a separate fifth complaint exclusively addressing the rights violations of eight members of Artsakh’s former political and military leadership. A standalone case could have expedited the ECHR’s ruling on their situation, but Armenia opted against this approach due to political considerations.

Sahakyan noted that this decision allows Azerbaijan to use prolonged legal proceedings for political leverage.

Meanwhile, the families of two individuals held in Baku, including Ruben Vardanyan's relatives, have appealed to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

In September 2023, after a nine-month blockade and the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh’s Armenian population, Azerbaijan captured former Artsakh Presidents Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, and Arayik Harutyunyan, as well as former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, Foreign Minister Davit Babayan, and several other former officials. The fabricated charges against them could lead to life imprisonment. On January 17, a politically motivated trial against the Artsakh leaders began in Baku.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has claimed that the detained former Artsakh leaders are being administered psychotropic substances in Baku’s prison. He cited intelligence reports suggesting that the aim is to provoke an escalation. Baku denies these allegations.