The fate of the 23 Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan on the floor at the Oslo Forum for Freedom (Libertas)
- Libertas
- May 27
- 2 min read
Updated: May 28
Jonathan Spangenberg, President of the Central Council of Armenians in Germany, & Michel Frangulian, representative of the Libertas collective, attended on behalf of the Free Armenian Hostages civic movement to the Oslo Freedom Forum from May 26–28.
Their aim was to raise awareness about the plight of the 23 Armenian prisoners (de facto state hostages) currently held in Azerbaijan among:
-OFF participants: worldwide HR NGOs representatives, journalist and activists
-Oslo public via a protest at Konserthus on May 27 17:00
Statement of Michel Frangulian, Libertas collective, during the protest on may 27:
In front of the Oslo Freedom Forum, that brings together 1400 defenders of the human rights worldwide, NGOs, journalists, activists, we, as representatives of the Free Armenian Hostages civic and global movement, are rising the tragedy of 23 Armenians, de facto state hostages of the petro-dictatorship of Azerbaijan, languishing in its prisons, some for more than four years, whose only crime is being Armenian.
These 23 persons include democratically-elected political leaders, prisoners of war and civilians, facing sham trials, fabricated charges, and brutal torture, while the media and human rights organizations remain largely silent.
These 23 persons are being used as bargaining chips to obtain further concessions from Armenia: a video shows a discussion between Aliyev, the dictator of Azerbaijan, and Erdogan’s wife, regarding Armenian prisoners of war where she says laughing: “Oh, so good, so return them in small portions.”
This gives you an idea of how Armenians and international law are viewed by these regimes inside member states of the Council of Europe.
Our demands are clear:
-we call on human rights NGOs to join our voices in condemning this tragedy
-we call on activists and peaceful citizens of the world to act with us by taking our flyer, and thanks to the QR codes learn more on this issue, and sign the petitions.
- Finally, we urge the world leaders to impose sanctions against Azerbaijan for torture, mistreatment, and holding 23 Armenian hostages thus breaking UN legislation on Human Rights, The Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War, and The European Convention on Human Rights. In Europe, we call in particular for Azerbaijan's expulsion from the Council of Europe and we call on the Commission to finally follow up on the numerous parliamentary resolutions calling for sanctions against Azerbaijan for its unacceptable behavior.
