Siranush Sahakyan, the lawyer representing the interests of Armenian prisoners at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), has stated that they have clear information that there will be a positive development in the return of Armenian prisoners within 1-2 months.
“At this moment the process is in a cold state. We do not expect a positive development in the short term, but all this is multifactorial, where political factors also predominate; we do not rule out that as a result of the repositioning of certain structures and states there may be a shift. We have clear information that within 1-2 months a positive development in the return of prisoners will definitely take place. These are not deadlines, but in a changing situation, when developments are taking place very quickly, we do not rule out that in the event of certain changes, a shift may be recorded in the matter,” Sahakyan noted.
The representative of the prisoners’ interests also emphasised that they are already witnessing that much broader structures are involved, which have begun to raise the issue of the return of prisoners more frequently: “Certain political developments are also expected in Armenia, which could intensify the work and ensure shifts.”
Referring to the latest incident regarding the return of Armenian prisoners, which turned out to be disinformation, lawyer Sahakyan said that they had no information regarding that incident.
Siranush Sahakyan noted that Baku has set several conditions for returning Armenian prisoners.
“There are demands; if there were no demands and no political agenda issues, then the repatriation would have taken place long ago. The end of the war implies that all prisoners must be repatriated without conditions. The parties to the negotiations also note that it was not possible to record a shift in the issue of the repatriation of prisoners as a result of the negotiations; this means that at that negotiating table, the repatriation of prisoners has been made dependent on the political topics under discussion. The issue has been politicised. Azerbaijan holds levers in its hands to ensure and force the Armenian side to fully fulfil the political agreements: the withdrawal of the RA Armed Forces from Artsakh, the return of certain territories, and also the provision of rights regarding Syunik.”
According to Sahakyan, as long as these issues are under discussion, the prisoners’ issue will also be artificially kept dependent on these matters.
Siranush Sahakyan also stated that there are official confirmations regarding 72 Armenian prisoners of war or civilian prisoners: “We have 70 proven cases, and we have well-founded assumptions that around 50 more persons may be presumed prisoners.”
