On August 21, 2026, human rights defender and representative of Armenian prisoners' interests in the ECHR, Siranush Sahakyan, filed a group complaint with the European Court of Human Rights regarding violations of the rights of Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan. The complaint was filed against former presidents of the Republic of Artsakh Bako Sahakyan, Arkadi Ghukasian, Araik Harutyunyan, former National Assembly speaker Davit Ishkhanyan, former foreign minister Davit Babayan, Major General and former senior military commander Davit Manukyan, Lieutenant General and former Minister of Defense Levon Mnatsakanyan, as well as Madat Babayan, Garik Martirosyan, Levon Balayan, Davit Allahverdyan, Vasily Beglaryan, Erik Ghazaryan, Gurgen Stepanyan, and Melikset Pashayan.
The complaint raises concerns about the inconsistency of the 'trials' conducted by Azerbaijan against the 15 Armenians with the right to a fair trial guaranteed by Article 6 of the Convention. The 'trials' held in the Baku military court were characterized by a fabricated and predetermined nature, lacking the fundamental guarantees of independent and impartial examination.
Moreover, prior to and during the trial, high-ranking Azerbaijani officials, including President Ilham Aliyev, publicly labeled the defendants as 'terrorists', 'war criminals', and 'separatists' before any judicial decision regarding their guilt was made.
The complaint also addresses issues of violation of the right to defense. In particular, the majority of the case materials, consisting of 422 volumes and about 105,000 pages, were not available with proper translation.
Prisoners were only allowed to read the 'verdict', which lacked an official seal or other documents confirming its authenticity.
The complaint was submitted as part of public activity in cooperation with the 'Center for International and Comparative Law' and the 'Armenian Legal Center for Justice and Human Rights'.
