Armenia’s Human Rights Defender of Artsakh, Gegham Stepanyan, has commented on the recent relocation of the last Armenians from Artsakh, arguing the move was not voluntary.

“According to the information I have, there was no request from them to be brought to Armenia. These individuals didn’t even know where they were being taken. They were simply loaded into vehicles and brought to the Hakari Bridge,” Stepanyan told Aysor.am.

His remarks contrast with an earlier statement by Armenia’s Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Arsen Torosyan, who said that ten ethnic Armenians and one ethnic Russian had requested to be relocated from Artsakh to Armenia via Azerbaijani and Armenian authorities.

Stepanyan added that, according to his knowledge, only one or two Armenians remain in Artsakh today.

“Azerbaijan had insisted that the remaining Armenians were living peacefully, and President Aliyev recently repeated that claim. But it turns out they did not ask to leave, and the transfer happened against their will,” Stepanyan noted. “I’m trying to understand the reasoning, but I can’t. Especially since it would have been beneficial for Azerbaijan to show they were allowing peaceful coexistence, strengthening the narrative that others left voluntarily and weren’t forcibly displaced.”

He stressed that Azerbaijan, through this action, has undermined its image of humanitarian treatment: “If everything was fine there, why were even those few people, who had chosen to stay, removed from Artsakh?”

While Stepanyan has not yet personally spoken with the relocated individuals, he said he received some information from their relatives. Some of them are currently in care facilities and have undergone psychological evaluations, particularly those with known health conditions. Others have reunited with their families.

Former State Minister of Artsakh, Artak Beglaryan, also commented earlier: “I haven’t been in contact with their relatives, but it’s easy to guess why they were moved. Azerbaijani rule is unlikely to be easy, even for the elderly or those with mental health issues.”

In 2025, Karen Avanesyan, a resident of Stepanakert born in 1967, was arrested and sentenced to 16 years in prison.