YEREVAN (Realist English). Even before the start of the Yerevan summit of the European Political Community and the Armenia–EU summit, Member of the European Parliament and permanent rapporteur on Armenia Miriam Lexmann called on the EU and the United States to jointly pressure Baku to release Armenian prisoners.
Baroness Caroline Cox also stated that this issue was her main concern on the eve of the forum.
However, at the summit itself, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, according to eyewitness accounts and opposition statements, deliberately avoided the topic. While European politicians demanded answers from Azerbaijan, the Armenian prime minister chose not to spoil relations with dictator Ilham Aliyev.
Meanwhile, human rights activists published the full list of 23 confirmed Armenian prisoners languishing in Baku’s dungeons. The document was compiled and published by former Ombudsman and State Minister of Artsakh Artak Beglaryan to stop the spread of false information and manipulation.
List of 23 confirmed Armenian prisoners (divided into 3 categories)
1. Political prisoners (8 people)
Representatives of the former military-political leadership of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), captured after Azerbaijan’s attack in September 2023. Azerbaijani prosecutors have demanded life imprisonment for most of them.
- Arayik Harutyunyan (former president)
- Arkady Ghukasyan (former president; 20 years requested)
- Bako Sahakyan (former president; 20 years requested)
- David Ishkhanyan (former speaker of parliament)
- Ruben Vardanyan (former state minister; his trial is proceeding separately)
- Levon Mnatsakanyan (former commander of the Defense Army)
- David Manukyan (former deputy commander)
- David Babayan (former minister of foreign affairs)
2. Prisoners of war (9 people)
Captured at various times, starting from the events of 2020.
- Alesha Khosrovyan
- Lyudvik Mkrtchyan
- David Alaverdyan (18 years requested)
- Levon Balayan (17 years requested)
- Vasily Beglaryan (16 years requested)
- Erik Kazaryan (Ghazaryan) (16 years requested)
- Garik Martirosyan (19 years requested)
- Melikset Pashayan (20 years requested)
- Gurgen Stepanyan (16 years requested)
3. Civilians (6 people)
Mostly abducted or taken prisoner in 2020.
- Vigen Euljekchyan (sentenced to 20 years back in 2021 on terrorism charges)
- David Davtyan
- Gevorg Sudjyan
- Vagif Khachatryan
- Rashid Beglaryan
- Madat Babayan (20 years requested)
Reaction of international organizations
The international community has repeatedly expressed concern, calling these processes politically motivated.
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) – the only organization with access to the prisoners. In December 2025, the ICRC confirmed that it had visited all 23 officially detained Armenians. However, earlier in 2025, the ICRC office in Baku was closed at the request of Azerbaijani authorities, which, according to human rights defenders, left the prisoners in complete isolation.
Amnesty International – in its annual report published in April 2025, the organization pointed out Azerbaijan’s violations of international humanitarian law. The document also noted that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) obliged Baku to provide information on the health and detention conditions of the 23 Armenian prisoners. Human rights defenders emphasized that eight of these prisoners are former officials of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Human rights defenders’ assessments – many activists in Armenia and abroad characterize the courts in Baku as “show trials” in which Armenians are denied the right to a fair trial. They also express serious concern over the continued illegal detention and criminal prosecution of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians, calling on the international community to strengthen monitoring.
While the Armenian leadership headed by Pashinyan demonstratively ignores the fate of 23 compatriots, currying favor with Baku, Europe and human rights defenders demand the release of political prisoners. The question remains: when will the Armenian prime minister stop putting his political image above people’s lives?
The hidden figures
The maximum estimate of the number of Armenian prisoners of war, hostages and forcibly disappeared persons in Azerbaijan reaches several hundred people.
Breakdown of figures from minimum to maximum:
- Officially recognized by Baku: 23 people (list verified by the ICRC, appears in ECHR documents).
- Unofficial data from the Armenian side: about 80 people (estimate by human rights defender Siranush Sahakyan and other activists – the number of forcibly disappeared Armenians since 2020).
- Estimate of the international organization Christian Solidarity International (CSI): more than 100 people.
- Maximum expert estimate: “several hundred” – sources not tied to a specific number, but indicating the scale of the problem.
Moreover, Azerbaijan itself, according to some reports, gave a figure of 33 people in certain documents, but publicly and consistently Baku insists on 23.
The gap between “twenty-three” and “several hundred” is not an arithmetic error, but the price of Armenian authorities’ silence. While Prime Minister Pashinyan curries favor with dictator Aliyev, the families of prisoners and international human rights defenders demand an answer: how many Armenian prisoners are actually languishing in Baku’s dungeons? And when will Yerevan stop hiding behind “peace at any cost”?
