Former State Minister of Artsakh Artak Beglaryan has criticized the Armenian government for failing to take effective steps to protect Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan, especially after the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) officially ceased its operations there.
In a Facebook post, Beglaryan said the ICRC has not visited Armenian detainees in Baku since June, and the closure of its office on September 3 means no international body now has any contact with them — significantly increasing the risk of torture and even death.
He stressed that for six months**,** the Armenian Foreign Ministry has failed to request that Switzerland provide consular services for Armenian citizens detained in Azerbaijan.
“This situation is both deeply troubling and condemnable. Since June, no international organization has had any contact with the Armenian hostages, increasing the danger to their physical safety,” Beglaryan wrote.
He noted that in March, human rights activists formally proposed that the MFA approach a neutral country — such as Switzerland — to request access to Armenian prisoners. Beglaryan added that Switzerland’s Foreign Ministry responded to him personally, expressing readiness to take on such a humanitarian role if Armenia made an official request. That request never came.
“If you don’t want Switzerland, approach the U.S., under whose sponsorship you signed Azerbaijani documents — without a single written or even verbal demand or plea regarding the hostages,” he wrote.
He accused the authorities of claiming to raise the issue of detainees in all meetings but refusing to secure even basic consular access for them.
Following Azerbaijan’s September 3 decision, the Red Cross ceased operations in the country, with Baku announcing it would manage communication between detainees and families.
According to Siranush Sahakyan, a legal representative for detainees at the European Court of Human Rights, there have been suicide attempts among Armenian prisoners in Baku prisons.
On September 2, Linda Euljekchyan, wife of Armenian prisoner Vicken Euljekjian, reported that her husband had been on a hunger strike for 20 days in a Baku prison. She appealed to international organizations and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, warning that his life was in danger and that urgent medical help was needed.
