PanARMENIAN.Net - All Armenians unlawfully deprived of their liberty in Azerbaijan must be immediately released because their detention does not comply with international standards, Armenia's Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan said while answering questions about Armenian prisoners held in Baku.

Manasyan noted that she has already publicly expressed her position on the issue, writes Panorama.am .

Commenting on proposals regarding a possible visit to Baku, she said the purpose of such a trip could not simply be for Armenia's ombudswoman to conduct monitoring activities in another country.

"If monitoring is not the purpose, then what is the purpose? We need to clearly define the objectives," she said.

According to Manasyan, there is no international platform where she has not raised the issue, although she said she could not provide additional details at this stage.

"From the very first stage of these detentions, I publicly stated my deep conviction that these processes cannot be considered compatible with modern human rights standards and values," the ombudswoman said.

After Ruben Vardanyan, former Artsakh parliament speaker Davit Ishkhanyan also appealed to Armenia's human rights defender from a prison in Baku.

In his appeal, Ishkhanyan stated that "this trial is not against 15 individuals, but against the Armenian people and Armenian statehood." He urged the ombudswoman to mediate and obtain the full text of the verdict from Azerbaijan in both Armenian and Azerbaijani.

Source: PanArmenian.Net