Sham Trials and Prison Sentences with no evidence in Azerbaijan

Petition updateRELEASE ALL Armenian POWs and HOSTAGES held illegally in AzerbaijanSham Trials and Prison Sentences with no evidence in Azerbaijan

BritishArmenian.org

7 Aug 2021

Dear supporter,

Thank you for taking the time to sign and share our petition! We are getting closer to 35.000 signatures, which will help us become one of the top petitions on this site!

More than five dozen Armenian captives, majority taken captive after the November 9 Ceasefire Agreement which ended the military aggression of Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh. Since June, around 60 Armenian POWs and civilian hostages are standing sham trials in Baku Court for Grave Crimes. Many have already been convicted without evidence on various fabricated charges and sentenced to long imprisonments in Azerbaijan, with no proper legal representation or access to lawyers. Without any ground, the Azerbaijani Security Services have accused Armenian hostages in terrorist acts, illegal acquisition, storage and transportation of weapons and ammunition, organized attacks on enterprises, organizations or individuals and illegal crossing of the state border of Azerbaijan [1].

On June 16 the fabricated trials of Armenian POWs Gegham Serobyan, Hrach Avagyan, Armen Baghasyan, Gor Gasparyan, Kamo Sefilyan, Volodya Hakobyan, Gevorg Asatryan, Sisak Yengoyan, Albert Petrosyan, Romik Sedrakyan, Aram Minosyan, Mkrtich Minosyan, Edgar Matesyan, and Yuri Karapetyan began. On July 2 Hrach Avagyan and Gegham Serobyan were sentenced to 4 years of imprisonment [2]. On July 3, twelve other captives from this group were sentenced to six months and later released and repatriated to Armenia in a trade in exchange for landmine maps [3]. Overall, 15 Armenian captives were repatriated on July 3, 2021 [4]. This proves once again that Armenian hostages are being held illegally solely to gain more concessions from the Armenian side.

On July 22, Haykaz Hovanesyan, Varazdat Manukyan, David Stepanyan, Levan Tosunyan, Artur Baghdasaryan, Serop Avakyan, Varazdat Arutyunyan, Zhora Manukyan, Hrair Herabyan, Narek Gasparyan, Grigor Kuregyan, Ashot Gevorkyan, and Martin Agramanyan were sentenced to 6 years in prison for "terrorism, illegal crossing of the state border of Azerbaijan and illegal possession of weapons and ammunition”. These reservists were taken prisoner in December of the last year, lost in woods and trying to retreat from the villages of Khtsaberd and Hin Tagher in Hadrut region [5].

On July 23, Baku Court for Grave Crimes sentenced another group of 13 Armenian captives to 6 years in prison after staged sham trials. The members of this group include Rafik Karapetyan, Gurgen Goloyan, Hrayr Tadevosyan, Vagharshak Maloyan, Egiazaryan Sasun, Arsen Vardanyan, Vakhagen Bakhrikyan, Setrak Soghomonyan, Armen Dilanyan, Manuk Martonyan, Mels Anbardanyan, Andranik Mikaelyan and Felix Grigoryan [6].

On July 29, 13 more captives, including Yeghishe Astanyan, Karen Aramyan, Tigran Avagyan, Grigor Gevorgyan, Hovsep Manukyan, Gevorg Martirosyan, Robert Gevorgyan, Vagharshak Avetisyan, Volodya Hakobyan, Andranik Sukiasyan, Andranik Manukyan, Grigor Saghatelyan and Eduard Kirakosyan were sentenced to 6 years in prison on charges of allegedly carrying out “sabotage operations”[7].

Two Armenian civilians, Gevorg Sujyan and Davit Davtyan, were sentenced to 15 years each in Azerbaijani prison. Sujyan and Davtyan, charity workers who delivered food and first aid to the region, were taken captive on November 11 while taking humanitarian aid to Nagorno-Karabakh. They reportedly disappeared from Lachin and were later seen in videos spread on Azerbaijani social media. The two were charged with “espionage and illegal border crossing” [8].

Lebanese-Armenian Vicken Euljekian, as our previous update mentioned, in civilian clothes was taken captive with his fiancee Maral Najarian in his Honda car on November 10 near Shushi, when he tried to drive to his Shushi hotel for his suitcases left before the start of the war. Maral Najarian was released on 10 March, while Vicken Euljekjian was charged under terrorism acts by the Baku Court and sentenced to 20 years in prison on 14 June [9].

Russian-Armenian civilian Edouard Dubakov, age 25, was captured in Krasnodar, Northern Caucasus, on 18.01.2021, and transported to Baku prison. He was sentenced to 10 years for “espionnage” and “illegal border crossing”. According to the indictment, Dubakov, having illegally visited the formerly occupied territories of Azerbaijan, participated in military exercises in the Kalbajar district. However, he was in hospital during the war and had two surgeries in autumn 2020, therefore, could be involved in any military action due to his hospitalization in his hometown! There is zero evidence that he willingly “visited Azerbaijan in January this year to ‘commit provocations”, as his prosecutors accused in the Baku Court for Grave Crimes. Edouard Dubakov is innocent and pleaded not guilty in Court on 22 July!

So far, the real number of Armenians being held captive in Azerbaijan remains unclear (after the war, the most quoted number has been between 200 to 300), only 102 POWs and civilians have been repatriated so far. At least 34 died in the Azerbaijani captivity due to physical and mental abuse and barbaric torture.

In a video footage from July, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev is heard telling Turkish President Recep Erdogan that he was keeping Armenian POWs captive as political leverage [10].

British Armenian humanitarian group continues to campaign for the rights of Armenian captives until they are all released. On July 14 and 21, silent protests were organised in front of the UK Parliament as countless e-mails and letters to the UN, Council of Europe, OSCE, OSCE Minsk group, UK MPs and PM’s Offices [11].

During our protests, we have urged the UK Government to:

• send independent observers to monitor the Baku trials;

• demand immediate end to all sham trials in Baku,

• demand publication of the full list of all detainees (alive or dead);

• call for the release of all captives held illegally by the Azerbaijani authorities.

Thank you for supporting our efforts and continuing to share this petition.

Our mission is not yet fulfilled; we continue our fight together with you!

#UntilTheyAreHome #FreeArmenianPOWs #HandsOffArmenia #FreeArmenianCaptives

British Armenian humanitarian group

Twitter: @arm_brit

Facebook: facebook.com/BritishArmenian

[1] https://en.trend.az/azerbaijan/politics/3444147.html