Two of the five prisoners returned to Armenia are from Sarapat community and will soon return to their homes

On January 28, two of the five prisoners returned to Armenia are from the Sarapat community in Shirak Province. In an interview with «Factinfo,» Sarapat community leader Artush Manukyan stated that they are currently in Yerevan under the supervision of doctors, but will return to their residences by late evening. “Their relatives have seen them and talked with them; everything is normal. They do not have health issues, and their spirits are good; they are not depressed,” said Manukyan.

The two residents of Sarapat who returned are married, have minor children, and are the sole breadwinners of their families. One of them, Karen Vardanyan, is the administrative leader of the Musayelyan village in the Sarapat community. “While they were in captivity, their families certainly faced difficulties, but we have tried to help them overcome them as much as possible. We have not ignored these families; we have been aware of their challenges and needs and provided support wherever we could. They have been in our focus in every regard,” Manukyan emphasized.

Moreover, six other residents from the Sarapat community are still in captivity, and there is no information about them in the community. “The newly returned ones have not been in contact with them. They were kept in separate cells of 4-5 people. Yesterday, a representative of the Russian peacekeepers facilitated a phone connection with three of them from Baku. The conversations were template questions and answers, from which we concluded they are not in the same cells,” stated the community leader, adding that one of those still in captivity is the sole breadwinner of his family, living with a wife and small child, while another was preparing to get married.

Addressing the artificial criminal cases against the 62 servicemen from Shirak Province, Artush Manukyan mentioned that there is a decision from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) regarding the urgent interim measures to be applied to them. “The ECHR has issued a ruling, and whether Azerbaijan likes it or not, they must adhere to the ECHR’s ruling. If they were registered as terrorists, they wouldn’t have released these five, because all have been in the same status. In that case, why were these five released?” Manukyan noted.

It is worth mentioning that 62 residents of Shirak Province were captured after the November 9 statement. On December 16, 2020, it became known that the adversary had taken control of the villages of Hin Tagher and Khbtaberd, which were under Armenian supervision, along with several military posts in that direction, with 62 servicemen being captured. Although Azerbaijan had itself violated the November 9 tripartite agreement and advanced its positions by seizing Armenian villages during the ceasefire, it presented our soldiers as diversants and opened criminal cases against them. Five individuals from that group are already in Armenia today. The EU’s Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Peter Stano, has also called on Azerbaijan to immediately release the remaining 57.