Armenia strongly condemns arrests of Nagorno-Karabakh leaders by Azerbaijan – MFA

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 4, ARMENPRESS. The Republic of Armenia strongly condemns the arrests of Nagorno-Karabakh leaders by Azerbaijan, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on October 4.

“We strongly condemn the arrests of Nagorno-Karabakh leaders Arkady Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Arayik Harutyunyan, Davit Ishkhanyan, Ruben Vardanyan and other arrests by Azerbaijan. Despite the statements made by high-level Azerbaijani government officials on willingness for dialogue with representatives of NK, on respecting and protecting the rights of Armenians and not obstructing their return to NK and on the establishment of peace in the region, the Azerbaijani law enforcement agencies continue to carry out arbitrary arrests.

The Republic of Armenia has numerously raised the necessity for guaranteeing the exclusion of such actions, including on September 23 from the podium of the UN General Assembly. On September 28, the Republic of Armenia appealed to the UN International Court of Justice, within the framework of the Armenia vs. Azerbaijan case examined as part of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, requesting provisional measures demanding Azerbaijan to refrain from taking punitive actions against current or former Nagorno-Karabakh leaders or military personnel.

The Republic of Armenia will take all possible steps to protect the rights of the unlawfully arrested NK representatives in international bodies, including judicial bodies.

We also call upon international partners to follow up their calls made thus far to Azerbaijan regarding the protection of the rights and security of the people of NK, and address the issue both in bilateral relations with Azerbaijan and in various international bodies,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry said.