The sham trial in Baku, which lasted for nearly a year and was based on clearly fabricated criminal cases and conducted with gross violations of international procedural norms, resulted in politically predetermined sentences. The military-political leadership of Artsakh, who took the hostages, as well as other Armenian captives, were sentenced to life imprisonment or 15-20 years in prison. The Pan-Armenian Council of Diplomats issued a statement on this matter.
“This trial cannot be considered the administration of justice.” This is a classic example of political persecution and Armenophobia, contrary to a number of fundamental norms of international law, in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, as well as international obligations to ensure a fair trial, the presumption of innocence, and the protection of prisoners of war.
Despite the predictability of such events, what has happened is deeply concerning and painful, as it once again demonstrates the selective application of international legal mechanisms, the lack of moral responsibility, and the substitution of force for law. The goals of the liberation struggle are deliberately distorted, and the right of peoples to self-determination is effectively subordinated to the threat of force.
It is particularly alarming that all of this is happening against the backdrop of declarations about the so-called peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, while some international figures are either silent or effectively turning a blind eye to gross violations of international law, thereby contributing to a climate of impunity.
The Pan-Armenian Council of Diplomats deems it necessary to clearly state that former Foreign Ministers of the Republic of Artsakh Arkady Ghukasyan (later also President of the Republic of Artsakh) and Davit Babayan, former Presidents of Artsakh Bako Sahakyan and Arayik Harutyunyan, high-ranking government officials Davit Ishkhanyan and Ruben Vardanyan, as well as high-ranking military officials Levon Mnatsakanyan and Davit Manukyan, carried out their activities solely to achieve peace, ensure regional stability, and protect the fundamental rights of their people. Their criminalization has no legal basis.
We are deeply convinced that the illegal capture and detention of our compatriots as hostages, the subsequent closed, politically motivated trials, fabricated charges, and predetermined sentences constitute political revenge against ethnic Armenians and can be qualified as a gross violation of international humanitarian law.
We consider it necessary to note that the actions, and even more so, the inaction, of the current Armenian authorities to date in protecting the rights of our compatriots and their repatriation raises serious doubts. This issue can only be resolved, and these doubts will be dispelled, with the complete and unconditional release of all persons illegally detained and convicted in Azerbaijan and their return to their families.
This is a matter of the dignity of all Armenians and the Armenian state.