The issue of Armenian prisoners of war and other detainees held in Azerbaijan remains part of the government’s ongoing daily work, National Assembly Speaker Ruben Rubinyan said when asked whether, as parliament speaker, he planned to take additional steps in that direction.
“The issue of prisoners of war and detainees is a constant, never-ending part of our daily work. It is thanks to that daily work that more than 200 detainees have returned home over the years. There have been months when there was no visible progress and it seemed the government was doing nothing, but then another group of detainees suddenly returned,” Rubinyan said, according to Sputnik Armenia.
He added that efforts at the parliamentary level would continue, as they have until now.
According to official data, 19 Armenian prisoners and other detainees are currently being held in Azerbaijan. Under verdicts announced by courts in Baku, former Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan, former National Assembly Speaker Davit Ishkhanyan, former Defense Army Commander Levon Mnatsakanyan and former deputy commander Davit Manukyan have been sentenced to life imprisonment. Former Artsakh presidents Arkadi Ghukasyan and Bako Sahakyan were sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Civilian detainees Madat Babayan and Melkiset Pashayan were sentenced to 19 years in prison, Garik Martirosyan to 18 years, Davit Alaverdyan and Levon Balayan to 16 years, while Erik Ghazaryan, Gurgen Stepanyan and Vasily Beglaryan received 15-year prison sentences.
The case of former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan was heard separately. On February 17, 2025, it was announced that a court in Baku had sentenced him to 20 years in prison. On April 28, authorities reported that he had been transferred, together with the other Armenian detainees, to the Umbaki penitentiary complex in Baku’s Garadagh district.
