New Details Reveal 11 Armenians Were Held Hostage in Stepanakert and Forced Out of Artsakh in Fear

The group of Armenians who had remained in Artsakh under Azerbaijani occupation for more than two years were forcibly removed under conditions that witnesses describe as frightening and abusive, according to new accounts shared by public figure Tigran Petrosyan.

Three days earlier, Armenian officials announced that 11 Armenians who had stayed in Stepanakert after Azerbaijan took control of the region had been transferred to Armenia at their own request. However, Petrosyan, citing a trusted source who spoke directly with one of those transferred, said the group believed they were being taken to their deaths.

“They were talking among themselves, saying, ‘They are taking us to kill us,’” Petrosyan told Azatutyun. “They didn’t know they were heading toward Armenia. Only when they reached the Hakari checkpoint did they understand they were being transferred.”

According to eyewitness accounts shared with Petrosyan, the journey was filled with fear and confusion. One woman, Rita — an ethnic Russian raised in Artsakh who had cared for stray animals — reportedly cried throughout the trip, convinced she would be executed.

When the group reached the checkpoint connecting Artsakh to Armenia, they realized one person was missing.

Petrosyan said Misha Grigoryan, a man frequently featured in Azerbaijani state media, attempted to refuse the transfer.

“He was saying, ‘I’m not going — the Armenians will kill me,’” Petrosyan shared. “He threw himself at the feet of the Azerbaijani officers. They told him, ‘If you stay, we will kill you here.’ He said, ‘It’s better if you kill me.’ Eventually they forced him back into the vehicle.”

Grigoryan had previously given interviews to Azerbaijani outlets questioning why Armenians fled Artsakh and had testified in a Baku court against former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan — a move Armenian human rights defenders said was likely made under pressure.

According to Petrosyan, the remaining Armenians had been held for months at the Dghyak Hotel in Stepanakert under near-captive conditions.

“They were isolated, given only minimal food, constantly pressured with questions like, ‘Why did you stay? Why don’t you leave?’” he said.

Most of those gathered there were elderly, ill, or living alone.

A relative of one of the transferred Armenians said they reunited after two and a half years and found their family member beaten and showing signs of abuse.

On Friday, Armenia’s Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs confirmed the transfer but did not release names or contact families. Relatives said they were left in the dark and had to search for information themselves.

“It was chaos — calling everywhere just to find out something,” said Eleonora Hambardzumyan, whose brother was among those transferred. 

She later learned through the ministry that he was placed at a psychiatric center in Nubarashen.

“I just want to see him with my own eyes and know what condition he’s in,” she said.

Officials said three of the transferred individuals are undergoing psychiatric evaluations and that none are critically ill. Most of the group has reportedly been housed in a hotel in Aghveran.

Petrosyan strongly disputed claims that the Armenians voluntarily requested the transfer.

“They didn’t ask for anything,” he said. “They signed papers at the border when they were already broken, like people coming out of prison.”

He described the move as the final stage of ethnic cleansing in Artsakh.

“They were expelled — not transferred by choice,” Petrosyan said. “This is the last chord of what happened in Artsakh.”

Petrosyan also claimed authorities are trying to downplay or conceal the reality of the situation in the name of maintaining a political peace agenda.

One eyewitness said an Azerbaijani official at the checkpoint noticed a gold cross worn by one of the Armenians and appeared interested in it.

“Mind your business,” the man reportedly said as he crossed into Armenia.

The departure of the 11 individuals is the removal of the almost last known Armenians who had remained in Artsakh since Azerbaijan’s occupation of the ingenious Armenian region in 2023. 

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