They Saw Hell in Baku Prison: Naira Zohrabyan at the PACE

At the PACE session, Naira Zohrabyan, a member of the Armenian National Assembly and the Armenian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, once again addressed the issue of Armenian prisoners of war, calling on the Council of Europe to move from empty statements to concrete actions.

“Especially today, when hatred and intolerance have become serious problems in Europe, and politicians have a great responsibility to keep political culture free from populism, lies, manipulations, and unacceptable tools against political opponents, our discussion today is more relevant than ever. Yes, a politician must have the mandate to freely exercise their right to free speech, which, however, cannot have any red lines. When the President of Azerbaijan calls Armenians liars and states that for 30 years Artsakh has been in the hands of monsters, wild beasts, and jackals, when he declares that he will expel Armenians from Artsakh like dogs, when representatives of that country’s political elite conduct excursions for schoolchildren in a park of desecration in Baku, where mannequins of Armenian soldiers are hung, and feed them hatred, I am more than confident that racism and anti-Armenianism cannot be considered free speech and must be prevented,” said Naira Zohrabyan, adding that if the European institution does not impose concrete sanctions against that country, there is a great concern that many Armenian mothers will not embrace their sons.

“I am asking again: why do you not suspend the voting rights of the Azerbaijani delegation? I am asking again: why do you not demand from international organizations to freeze Aliyev's family's and his clan’s European bank accounts? I have spoken to the boys who returned to the homeland two weeks ago. They saw hell in Baku prison; they have been in hell. Addressing Azerbaijan with calls and appeals is futile. And I will again and every day call for concrete sanctions against Azerbaijan; otherwise, Azerbaijan can become the last graveyard of Europe and European values,” she noted.