International organizations should impose sanctions against Azerbaijan, because the rest of the steps are useless. Siranush Sahakyan: "News.am".

On January 25, the Azerbaijani media reported that the detention period of the illegally detained ex-presidents of Artsakh and other military and state officials in captivity in Baku was extended for another 4 months. NEWS.am spoke with human rights defender Siranush Sahakyan, representative of the interests of Armenian prisoners of war at the ECHR, on the topic.

What do you think is the reason for such a decision?

The decision was predictable, because the judicial system in Azerbaijan does not independently respond to cases concerning Armenians. The former high-ranking officials of Artsakh illegally held in Baku are political prisoners and are punished for their positions and legal activities. In the case of Ruben Vardanyan, it is also related to his humanitarian and charitable activities.

Just as in the case of prisoners of war, trumped-up charges were sent to the courts, and the latter ratified them, becoming the decision-making bodies of the executive power, so, inevitably, similar trials are predicted for these eight figures, considering that international attention will be greater in the case of the eight. And since the cases are devoid of facts and evidence, the detention is extended for another four months in order to operate the forgery factory.

It should also be taken into account that this stage coincides with the pre-election period in Azerbaijan, and perhaps they did not consider it expedient to hold trials at this stage. They are now using these cases for propaganda purposes, and a vivid example of this recently was the illegal distribution of photos of our compatriots with violations of personal data protection. Instead, their real situation is not covered in any way, there is no proper public accountability, which implies ensuring the access of independent bodies at certain intervals, with a deadline, etc.

How do you interpret the fact that the extension of the restraining order of Ruben Vardanyan was first announced, and then of the remaining seven figures? Do you see a trend here?

First, I think they are trying to keep the chronology of the arrest, because Ruben Vardanyan was arrested first, and his restraining order was going to expire a few days earlier.

The other reason, according to everyone, is Vardanyan being more famous. By doing so, they tried to give the issue a greater voice, to get greater political benefits, and also, why not, to put pressure on the entire Armenian community, because Vardanyan is famous not only in Armenia, but also in the Diaspora.

Full article at the source site.