Where Are the Armenian Prisoners? Azerbaijan Sends Photos of Empty Rooms as Lawyer Warns of Torture

Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan are being subjected to systematic torture and inhumane treatment, according to a lawyer representing the detainees before the European Court of Human Rights, who says the lack of outside access has made it increasingly difficult to determine their condition.

Siranush Sahakyan, speaking at a news conference Friday, said evidence gathered from Armenians who have returned from Azerbaijani captivity points to a pattern of abuse inside the country's detention facilities.

Medical records and testimony from former prisoners have helped lawyers document injuries and establish evidence of mistreatment during their detention, she said.

Sahakyan accused Azerbaijan of violating international human rights standards as well as its own laws, which formally prohibit torture.

She cited findings by the United Nations Committee Against Torture concerning the widespread use of torture in Azerbaijan, warning that Armenian detainees are especially vulnerable because of the decadeslong conflict between the two countries.

She also questioned Azerbaijan's refusal to authorize the publication of reports by the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture following visits in 2025. Sahakyan argued that withholding the findings raises further concerns about conditions inside detention facilities.

The prisoners' isolation has become another major concern.

According to Sahakyan, the last in-person contact with the Armenian detainees took place on December 24 and 25, 2025. Since then, information obtained through the European Court of Human Rights has been limited to documents, medical examination results and photographs provided by Azerbaijani authorities.

None of the latest photographs show the prisoners.

Sahakyan said previous images supplied by Azerbaijan included Armenian detainees inside prison cells and other facilities, giving lawyers at least some opportunity to assess their physical appearance.

The more recent photographs show empty rooms, without identifying details establishing where they were taken or whether the prisoners are being held there.

"They have deliberately refused to provide photographs," Sahakyan said, describing the change as a worrying development.

She also said the denial of consular access has been raised before the European Court of Human Rights as a separate violation of the detainees' rights.

Azerbaijan is holding 19 Armenians, including former political and military leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh, according to the figures cited by Sahakyan.

Many were detained after Azerbaijan's September 2023 military offensive, which ended more than three decades of Armenian control over Nagorno-Karabakh and triggered the flight of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians to Armenia.

The fate of the detainees remains a major humanitarian issue in relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, even as the two governments work toward a formal peace agreement.

Sahakyan's allegations have not been independently verified, and the photographs and medical records she described were not made available for independent examination at the news conference. The absence of direct access to the prisoners leaves their current physical condition unclear.

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