European Commissioner Dan Jørgensen calls for immediate investigation into reports of torture against Armenian hostages in Azerbaijan

European Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen has called for an immediate and impartial investigation into the reports of torture against Armenian hostages held in Azerbaijan.

He made the remarks in his speech at the European Parliament plenary session, during the debate of the motion for a resolution on “Unlawful detention and sham trials of Armenian hostages, including high-ranking political representatives from Nagorno-Karabakh, by Azerbaijan.”

He said that the European Commission has been following the ongoing trials against the Armenian hostages. 

“We are aware that human rights organizations have expressed concern regarding the fairness of these trials and the treatment of the defendants. Many of you have expressed similar concern, and today we are treating these issues very seriously, following the developments. The right to a fair trial must be guaranteed and respected. The EU’s special representative to the South Caucasus is also closely following these issues and conveying our concerns to Baku authorities,” the commissioner told the MEPs, adding that the EU-Azeri ties are based on principles that both sides must adhere to, such as human rights and rule of law.

“Thus, the EU will continue to call on the Azerbaijani government to fulfill its international obligations, which include the right to due process and fair trial. We will utilize all opportunities in order for Azerbaijan to be bound to ensure dignified and safe conditions for the detainees. The reports of torture and inhumane treatment must be urgently and impartially investigated,” he added.

He added that the EU will continue to support the Armenian-Azeri normalization process.

 “The EU will continue to support this process with the use of all our instruments. We are ready to support the sides in dialogue aimed at establishment of lasting and sustainable peace,” he said.

Azerbaijan has officially acknowledged that it is holding 23 Armenian prisoners despite a post-war obligation to release all POWs and detainees. 

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan had earlier described the Azeri trial as “mock trials.”

The detainees include former top officials of Nagorno-Karabakh such as the former presidents Bako Sahakyan, Arkady Ghukasyan and Arayik Harutyunyan, as well as former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan. They were arrested after the 2023 Azeri offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh which resulted in the forced displacement of the region’s entire Armenian population of over 100,000. 

The former officials are all facing fabricated charges in what many experts and officials have described as sham trials.

Vardanyan, whose case has been separated from the others, recently announced a hunger strike in protest of the sham trial. In a statement, he called on world leaders and the international community to interfere.

Vardanyan has vehemently denied all charges against him which include “financing terrorism” and “illegally entering” Karabakh. Vardanyan, as well as many experts, have described the charges as falsifications. The former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo earlier slammed the charges as bogus, emphasizing that Baku is using the show trials to cover up its crimes in Nagorno-Karabakh.  

Jared Genser, Vardanyan’s lawyer, recently said that his client’s health is in danger.

The Armenian Ombudsperson earlier called on all human rights organizations to intervene after receiving reports of torture and ill-treatment against the Armenian prisoners in the Azeri jail.