Protesters urge UN to visit Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan

For two weeks now, the release of Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan has been the top issue on the public and political agenda, driven by mounting public pressure, Mesrop Arakelyan, co-founder of the Country to Live party and an associate of Ruben Vardanyan, announced at a protest outside the UN office in Yerevan on Friday.

Arakelyan stressed the importance of public pressure, noting that the international community will see that, unlike the silence of the Armenian authorities, the Armenian public is actively demanding the return of the captives.

"Armenia is the Armenian people, not Nikol Pashinyan and his circle," Arakelyan stated. He highlighted that international organizations have already taken steps, including a statement from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights demanding the prisoners' release, a resolution adopted by the European Parliament calling for their release and sanctions against Azerbaijani officials over the sham trials, as well as urging EU representatives in Azerbaijan to attend the trials.

Arakelyan called on the UN to fulfill its commitments by visiting the Armenian prisoners, assessing their health condition, documenting cases of abuse and attending their show trials.