Families of Armenian Prisoners Take Case to UN, Demand Immediate Release

International lawyers representing the families of seven Armenian hostages imprisoned in Azerbaijan have submitted an official petition to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, demanding their immediate and unconditional release. This was reported by the Artsakh Union and comes as part of ongoing international efforts to address the situation of Armenian detainees following recent conflicts in the region.

The petition was submitted on April 24, 2026, the day marking the remembrance of the victims of the Armenian Genocide. It calls for the annulment of the convictions issued against the detainees, arguing that they are the result of serious violations of international law and are arbitrary in nature.

The seven individuals named in the petition are Davit Babayan, Madat Babayan, Levon Balayan, Vasily Beglaryan, Erik Ghazaryan, Davit Ishkhanyan, and Levon Mnatsakanyan. All are Armenian citizens who were captured by Azerbaijani forces between September 19 and October 3, 2023, following Azerbaijan’s military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh. Among them are former political leaders, military personnel, and one civilian.

Three of the detainees — Davit Ishkhanyan, former Speaker of the Artsakh National Assembly, Davit Babayan, former Foreign Minister, and Levon Mnatsakanyan, former Defense Minister and commander of the Defense Army — were sentenced to life imprisonment by a military court in Baku on February 5, 2026. The remaining four received prison sentences ranging from 15 to 19 years. As of now, they have been held in detention in Baku for between 934 and 948 days.

Although the current petition focuses on seven of the 19 Armenian detainees, the applicants state that all detainees meet the criteria for arbitrary detention, and any conclusion reached by the UN Working Group could apply more broadly.

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is an independent body of legal experts authorized by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate cases of deprivation of liberty around the world. According to the petition, families and legal representatives have no realistic way to challenge the convictions within Azerbaijan’s legal system, prompting them to seek international intervention.

The applicants argue that the detention of the seven individuals is arbitrary on several grounds.

They state that there is a lack of legal basis for their detention, noting that the individuals were captured during an armed conflict that qualifies as an international armed conflict under the Geneva Conventions. As such, they argue the detainees should have been treated as prisoners of war and granted protections under the Third Geneva Convention, including the right to repatriation. Instead, Azerbaijan has charged them with crimes such as terrorism, illegal possession of weapons, and genocide.

The petition also raises concerns about the criminalization of political beliefs. It notes that Davit Babayan and Davit Ishkhanyan had publicly advocated for the right to self-determination of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh. It further points out that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev referred to the Artsakh leadership as “criminals” shortly before their arrests, arguing that the detentions aim to silence political dissent.

Another key concern outlined in the petition is the fairness of the trials. The detainees were reportedly tried together with other Armenian defendants in closed military proceedings and did not have access to lawyers of their choosing. Five of the seven later refused to confirm their pre-trial testimonies, raising concerns about possible coercion or mistreatment. The petition also states that verdicts have not been officially delivered to the convicted individuals, limiting their ability to appeal.

The document further highlights the denial of humanitarian access. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which had previously visited Armenian detainees in Azerbaijan, was expelled from the country in September 2025. According to the applicants, this removed the last independent mechanism monitoring detention conditions.

The petition also challenges charges of mercenarism brought against six of the seven detainees. It argues that under international law and Azerbaijan’s own legal framework, individuals cannot be considered mercenaries if they are citizens or residents of a party to the conflict. All seven detainees are ethnic Armenians who lived in Nagorno-Karabakh.

In addition, the applicants point to what they describe as discrimination based on ethnicity and political views. They cite findings by international bodies, including the United Nations and the European Court of Human Rights, which have documented anti-Armenian discrimination in Azerbaijan, including within the justice system. The petition argues that the detainees would not have been targeted if not for their Armenian identity and their association with the authorities of Artsakh.

The submission was made in accordance with several resolutions of the UN Human Rights Council.

The case of Armenian detainees in Azerbaijan has drawn attention from multiple international organizations. These seven individuals are among 19 Armenians currently held following the conflicts of 2020 and 2023. Their situation has been raised by institutions including the United Nations, the European Parliament, the European Court of Human Rights, and Amnesty International, all of which have expressed concern over their detention conditions and called for their release.

On March 3, 2025, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that “all those arbitrarily deprived of liberty in Azerbaijan, including ethnic Armenians, must be released immediately, and fair trial rights must be fully respected.” Since 2021, the European Parliament has adopted six resolutions on the issue, the most recent in March 2025. The International Court of Justice has also issued rulings requiring Azerbaijan to protect Armenian detainees and ensure equality before the law, though these rulings have not been implemented.

Through the petition, the applicants are calling on the UN Working Group to issue an official opinion recognizing the detention of the hostages as arbitrary, to demand their immediate release and compensation, and to seek access for international representatives to visit the detainees in Baku before their release.

The petition was submitted with authorization from the families of the detainees by a group of international legal representatives, including attorney Siranush Sahakyan in Yerevan, Artak Beglaryan, president of the Artsakh Union, Aitor Martinez Jimenez in Madrid, Megan Shuro-Lion in Paris, and Irene Massimino in Buenos Aires.

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