The number of unconfirmed prisoners in Azerbaijan is 80, we have verified evidence — Siranush Sahakyan

The officially confirmed number of Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan is 23, human rights activist Siranush Sahakyan told Alpha News.

“Both the 2020 war and the 2023 aggression have caused serious humanitarian problems. We had cases of prisoners being taken during both attacks, and there were also missing persons in both cases. The officially confirmed number of prisoners is 23. We use the term ‘hostages’ collectively, and this number includes both civilian prisoners and military personnel who were converted into prisoners of war and the former military and political leadership of Artsakh, whom we consider political prisoners.

Their capture has no direct relation to armed captures. These people were wanted by the Azerbaijani authorities for the activities they carried out, and their arrest and illegal detention are related to the position or views expressed in support of the self-determination of Artsakh,” Siranush Sahakyan said.

According to the human rights activist, about 80 people were either killed or are being held in a secret facility.

“5 of the 23 captured Armenians have been held captive since 2020, and all the rest were registered in 2023. At the same time, we constantly raise the issue of forcibly disappeared prisoners. As a result of fact-finding activities, we have documented 80 cases. We have videos, photographs, and verified testimonies of repatriated prisoners, which confirm that at least 80 people also ended up under the control of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, were deprived of their freedom for some time, and subsequently forcibly disappeared.

As of now, there is no information about their fate. We do not rule out that they are still alive and may be held in closed secret institutions. We do not rule out that they were killed either. We use the legal term forcibly disappeared prisoners,” Siranush Sahakyan noted.

She said that there are missing persons whose data is calculated differently.

“As a result of the blast in Stepanakert in 2023 alone, the number of missing people is 22. As a result of two wars, about 300 people are still missing. Their number is calculated differently, and other data is published methodologically, for example, by investigative bodies or the ICRC.

The difference in these data is about 100 people. The problem is that if the families of the missing do not agree with the DNA identification and continue to search for their family members, according to the methodology of the International Committee of the Red Cross, they are still classified as missing, and efforts are made to find them,” Sahakyan explained.