Azerbaijan, which has brought trumped-up charges against the Armenian captives held hostage in Baku, including the military-political leadership of Artsakh, has announced the start of their trials. Former Human Rights Defender and Minister of Artsakh Artak Beglaryan also spoke at a public rally organized on January 17 by Artsakh NGOs demanding the release of the Armenian captives.
“We are here for our conscience, our individual and national dignity, because our Armenian hostages are in Baku for us. They are facing a trumped-up trial there, being tortured, and subjected to inhuman treatment, because they are representing us, firstly, as the former and current leaders of the Republic of Artsakh, and secondly, as Armenians. And not just the military-political leadership, but everyone who think that Artsakh should have existed as an Armenian state. For Aliyev’s genocidal regime it means we are all terrorists. If we are terrorists, then we are also condemned there. That is why we must raise our voice in all instances and, first of all, force and demand the Armenian authorities to move from their places and do their utmost to return our hostages to their homeland and restore our dignity to us,” Beglaryan declared in front of the UN office in Armenia.
Referring to the choice of the places to organize the action, he explained that they gathered in front of the UN office because it is the collective face of the international community and the action is directed not only at the UN, but also at all states, because all are UN members. And the second action in front of the Foreign Ministry is aimed at the Armenian authorities, because, according to the former Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Artsakh, as long as state institutions do not protect our rights, both individually and collectively, naturally, other states will not do so at all. He warned that another informational and psychological attack is expected from Baku in the coming days and weeks.
“Our military-political leadership and prisoners of war, in this case, eight military-political leaders and seven prisoners of war and one civilian captured since 2023, all will stand before the fake genocide court in Baku. I am sure that the Azerbaijani media will show humiliating images, publish various statements or so-called testimonies as a result of torture and various repressions, taken out of context, which we should not pay attention to. We should all remember that our brothers there are free to say any word, any thought, as long as they return to their homeland alive. No one, be it an ordinary citizen or an official, has the right to target or put our brothers under attack. They represent us there and we must do our utmost to ensure that they are not targeted in any way by our compatriots,” Artak Beglaryan noted.
He called on the public and the authorities not to bring Azerbaijani false theses and humiliating images to the Armenian information domain and no representative of the authorities should not reserve the right to target anyone, because according to the former state minister, our hostages are there because of the authorities’ sins and omissions.
“Do not forget that these days are the 35th anniversary of the massacre of the Armenian population of Baku. It is an episode of the genocidal policy carried out by Azerbaijan against the Armenian people, and now our Armenian hostages are facing another genocidal affair. The Armenian exodus from Artsakh, the destruction of our churches, houses, and cemeteries are a consequence of the genocide, and this is the result of the collective failure of the Armenian authorities and the international community. We are here to free our hostages, overcome our ongoing genocide and its consequences, and prevent a new genocide,” Artak Beglaryan emphasized.
Zara Mayilyan