Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan has questioned whether visiting Armenian captives held in Azerbaijan would help protect their rights without effective legal powers and monitoring mechanisms, Factor.am reported.
Manasyan warned that such visits could present only carefully selected detention conditions, leaving actual problems undocumented. She explained that her authority extends to Armenian state institutions and does not provide powers to investigate violations or demand corrective measures in Azerbaijani prisons.
“I have not said that it is impossible for me to travel anywhere. What I have said is that taking action must have a specific purpose, offer practical value and be effective,” she said, according to Sputnik Armenia.
The ombudsperson said the issue of Armenian detainees continues to be raised internationally, including with UN human rights representatives. She also stressed the need for security guarantees when arranging visits by international delegations.
In April, former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, who is detained in Baku, asked Manasyan to consider visiting the captives and facilitating visits by their families.
His wife, Veronika Zonabend, subsequently called for greater efforts to arrange family visits. On November 6, she said a proposed international women’s humanitarian delegation would travel to Baku only if meetings with Armenian captives and security guarantees were formally agreed upon.
Zonabend said she had contacted Azerbaijan’s ombudsperson repeatedly since June but received no response.
