Siranush Sahakyan: ‘We are still awaiting the contact details of the official responsible for POW affairs from the Government of the Republic of Armenia’
Commentary to NEWS.am by Siranush Sahakyan, representative of the interests of Armenian prisoners of war (POWs)before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and president of the International and Comparative Law Center.
Mrs. Sahakyan, in your conversation with us, you mentioned that during the meeting between you, Veronika Zonabend — wife of Ruben Vardanyan — and representatives of the Republic of Armenia (RA) Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Interdepartmental Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing (Whereabouts Unknown) Persons, the latter promised to provide the contact details of a designated official responsible for POW issues by the end of this month for ongoing communication regarding humanitarian issues concerning Armenian POWs held in Baku. Have you received an answer yet?
Let me make a slight clarification: Mrs. Zonabend was the one who suggested the deadline of the end of the month, based on assurances from all meeting participants that the issue of the captives is a priority for them. Government representatives had promised to provide the details as soon as they clarified them. Up to this moment, no, we have not received these yet. But, we hope they will accede to Mrs. Zonabend’s request, and in the meantime, manage to clarify and provide the contact information of the official responsible.
Mrs. Sahakyan, you also mentioned that you are preparing to submit an application to the ECtHR in the cases of the 15 other Armenian POWs held in Baku, as the appeal process in Azerbaijan has already concluded and the verdicts of the military court remain unchanged. Do you have any news regarding this? Have you succeeded in obtaining the verdicts?
The application is in the submission phase, and an announcement will be made about it in the near future. As for the verdicts, we have not succeeded in obtaining them. However, as you may recall, the ECtHR has mandated Azerbaijan to provide copies or summaries of the verdicts issued within the framework of the criminal proceedings against the Armenian POWs by August 31, which must include the reasoning of the judges who rendered the decisions based on the evidence available in the case.
