=> On 2025/04/04 acknowledgement of receipt for this letter received by Libertas

Villeurbanne mayor Cédric Van Styvendael in Armenia during his visit to the prisoner sponsored by the city and released.  Accompanied here by Patricia Tanielyan and Pascale Gostanian from LIBERTAS collective.

The lengthy sham trial held in Baku showed that the Armenian prisoners of war had no connection, even indirect, with the testimony provided by Azerbaijani witnesses: the acts attributed to the Armenians on trial were not proven, Siranush Sahakyan, a lawyer representing the prisoners before the European Court of Human Rights, told Radio Azatutyun (the Armenian service of Radio Liberty). “The testimonies were all identical in content, and all the witnesses confirmed that they did not personally know the Armenians on trial and had never had any dealings with them. This is a key finding: it shows that the so-called evidence establishes no objective link with the acts alleged and in no way constitutes a credible reconstruction of events,” Sahakyan explained. The trial of former Artsakh political and military leaders and other Armenian prisoners is now closed. According to Azerbaijani state media, closing arguments will be delivered next week. "We are faced with abstract accusations; no link could be established between the alleged facts and the defendants, nor between the victims and the events. “ The hearings took place without the presence of independent media or representatives of international organizations. The only source of information on the trial remains the state news agency AzerTac. According to Siranush Sahakyan, the entire trial was nothing more than a sham: ”Both the closing arguments and the verdicts are written in advance. There is no doubt that the sentences will be condemnatory and extremely severe, since this is all a political order." Another indication of the fictitious nature of the trial is the fact that the prosecution requested only two days for closing arguments, whereas a trial of this magnitude would require several weeks. The lawyer expects the verdicts to be handed down by the end of the year. “The challenge now is to have these violations recognized and to obtain an appropriate international response, particularly in the form of judicial decisions. The goal is to have these illegal judgments overturned through international legal mechanisms; the only possible course of action is to challenge these proceedings before supranational courts so that they officially recognize their illegitimacy.” When asked about the possibility that the Pashinyan government, which is engaged in a peace process with Azerbaijan, might refer these cases to international bodies to denounce the violation of the right to a fair trial, Sahakyan replied: "If developments occur, such as the possible withdrawal of inter-state complaints, the families will have to organize themselves and finance their own defense in order to assert their rights. " Ruben Vardanyan's trial is also coming to an end. The trial of former Artsakh senior official Ruben Vardanyan is continuing in Baku. According to Siranush Sahakyan, it will reach its final stage in the coming weeks. Vardanyan is the only Armenian prisoner who has been able to hire an Azerbaijani lawyer at his own expense. However, ten days ago, he publicly dismissed the lawyer, calling the trial a “farce” and denouncing the deprivation of his right to defense. The former Artsakh Minister of State also has an American lawyer, but the authorities are refusing to allow him to enter Azerbaijani territory. Armenian prisoners are deprived of any independent defense and access to representatives of international organizations. The International Committee of the Red Cross, the only channel of contact with them, has also been prevented from carrying out its mission in Baku. “November 4 is the deadline set for Azerbaijan to submit a report to the European Court of Human Rights on the conditions of detention and other circumstances concerning the prisoners. We are therefore waiting for this deadline to expire so that we can examine the documents provided and draw the necessary conclusions,” the lawyer said. 23 Armenian prisoners still detained in Baku Twenty-three Armenian prisoners of war are currently being held in Baku prison, charged under particularly serious articles of the Azerbaijani criminal code. Armenian officials say they are “doing everything” to secure their repatriation, but the issue was not included in the agreement signed on August 8 between Armenia and Azerbaijan. During his meeting at the White House with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, US President Donald Trump promised to intervene with Ilham Aliyev on behalf of the “23 Christian prisoners.” However, since this statement, there has been no official information indicating that any steps have been taken.

Today, Vagif Khachatryan marks his 70th birthday behind bars in Azerbaijan, where he remains unlawfully imprisoned after being abducted while trying to reach Armenia for emergency medical care during Azerbaijan’s illegal blockade of Artsakh. Because Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Berdzor (Lachin) Corridor, imposed in December 2022, had cut Artsakh off from Armenia and deprived its 120,000 residents of food, medicine, and humanitarian aid, the International Red Cross organized an evacuation for Vagif Khachatryan to undergo urgent heart surgery in Armenia. On July 29, 2023, Azerbaijani forces captured Vagif at the Hakari Bridge, where they stopped the convoy and took him to Baku, ignoring protests from Red Cross personnel. In Baku, prosecutors accused him of “genocide,” “forced displacement,” and “destruction of property” allegedly committed in the village of Meshali (Khojaly district) on December 22, 1991. Armenian and international observers have rejected these charges as fabricated. The court sentenced him to 15 years in prison, with the first five to be served in jail and the rest in a high-security colony. Earlier today, his daughter, Vera Khachatryan, shared a heartfelt message for her father’s birthday: “Sometimes it feels like every word is unnecessary, sometimes it seems meaningless to write or share emotions online. But there are days when silence becomes impossible, when words are the only way to release suffocating feelings. Today is my father’s 70th birthday, and we are going mad with helplessness that we cannot simply call and say, ‘Papa, I love you, happy birthday.’ Forgive us, our kind, strong father, for our helplessness. We embrace you through the air as tightly as our hearts allow. You will feel our warmth, the strength that must help you endure all hardships. No border can separate us. You will come home, we believe it. You promised.” Vagif Khachatryan remains unlawfully detained in Azerbaijan. His family and human rights advocates continue to call for his immediate release, describing his imprisonment as a violation of international humanitarian law and a symbol of the ongoing persecution of Artsakh’s civilian population.

ACAT-France (*) has launched a campaign, echoing LIBERTAS's advocacy, to ensure justice for the Armenian victims of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh, with the safe return of refugees, a fair trial for the 23 Armenians detained, opening their trials to international observers, and protection of heritage: Please participate in this campaign en masse. To do so, once you are on the campaign page: click on the “ Send an email ” button and your email inbox will open with a letter of request ready to be sent to Ilham Aliyev via the Azerbaijani ambassador to France, at the following address send this email (*) Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture is an ecumenical Christian NGO that defends human rights and considers torture to be the absolute negation of the dignity inherent in every person. ACAT-France has more than 39,000 members (members and donors), 27 regional teams, and 350 local groups.

1/2 Meeting in Armenia - end of April 2025 (INTRA / LIBERTAS) Following on from its campaign launched at the end of 2024 to provide psychological support to former Armenian prisoners, their families, and the families of those still in captivity, LIBERTAS is stepping up its efforts on the ground .   At the end of April 2025, Hilda Tchoboian , coordinator of the collective, carried out a mission to supervise the project unfolding in Armenia : First, working sessions on the rolling out of psychotherapeutic care were held in collaboration with Khachatur Gasparyan, director of the Seda Ghazarian Foundation for Mental Health (INTRA) These sessions laid the foundations for structured and sustainable support for former state hostages and their family, implemented by INTRA, Seda Ghazarian Mental Health Center in Yerevan. This program is realized thanks to a technical collaboration between INTRA, also supported by ICRC Delegation in Armenia, and the ICLC (International and Comparative Law Center) in Armenia. NB:  INTRA experts also cooperate  with "Santé Arménie", and the Vinatier Psychiatric hospital in Lyon This mission also marked the official launch of the field survey phase , which aims to assess the psychological and social assistance needs of 195 former Armenian prisonners / hostages , who have been released in stages since 2021 INTRA has set up 3 multidisciplinary duos (psychologists and social workers) to cover the cities of Gyumri, Vanadzor and Yerevan in order to conduct face-to-face assessment interviews, both individually and with families. Khachatur Gasparyan and Hilda Tchoboian  during a working session on April 18, 2025, discussing the ongoing LIBERTAS program providing psychological care   to   released Armenian hostages  and their families. Alongside this work, Hilda Tchoboian gathered testimonies from two key figures involved in the project: Siranush Sahakyan, director of the International and Comparative Law Center, and Khachatur Gasparyan, director of the INTRA Center: 2/2 Video conference meeting – June 18, 2025 (INTRA / LIBERTAS) The assessment phase is progressing as planned : 195 released prisoners were targeted to be informed by telephone about the psychotherapy project and to be invited to participate in the psychological needs assessment survey As of June 18, 2025, an attempt to contact 31 former prisoners of war from a first group was carried out: 17 have been contacted and 7 of them have agreed to an initial meeting with one of the three INTRA teams, each consisting of a psychologist and a social worker, depending on where the prisoners live. The assessment can begin after this initial meeting 14 could not be reached, and attempts to contact them will continue. The psychologist and social worker duo from the INTRA center participating in the conference INTRA team participating in the conference with, on the right, Khachatur Gasparyan, its director Hilda Tchoboian, LIBERTAS coordinator