Ocampo to Discuss Release of Armenian Prisoners in Yerevan

Former ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo will meet in Yerevan on September 13 to discuss steps towards the release of Armenian prisoners held in Baku, reports the Free Armenian Hostages initiative.

“It is our right to work for the release of Armenian captives held by the Azerbaijani regime. We can do this even as the environmental summit in Baku approaches, which is scheduled for the near future,” the statement says.

The meeting will take place on September 13 at 18:30 at the Ibis Yerevan Center hotel, moderated by Mark Grigoryan. Ocampo's movement aims to combat deceit, unite the global Armenian community, and initiate a worldwide campaign demanding the release of Armenians.

The initiative emphasizes that the upcoming COP29 conference under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Baku provides a unique opportunity to highlight human rights violations by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's regime. “In a country where the rule of law is disregarded and a repressive government arbitrarily detains people for political reasons, holding a conference promoting ideals of peace and security is inappropriate,” the initiative concludes.

In December 2023, Armenia supported Azerbaijan's request to host the COP29 conference. In December, the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, and several French politicians opposed holding COP29 in Baku in 2024. On June 4, German human rights defenders demanded the release of Armenian prisoners ahead of COP29 in Baku.

According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, there are 23 Armenian captives in Baku, including former leaders of Artsakh Bako Sahakyan, Arayik Harutyunyan, Arkadi Ghukasyan, former state minister and businessman Ruben Vardanyan, former foreign minister David Babayan, and former parliament president David Ishkhanyan, as well as former commander of the Artsakh Defense Army, Lieutenant General Levon Mnatsakanyan, and former deputy commander David Manukyan.

Ocampo has referred to the detention of former Artsakh leaders by Azerbaijan as the “pinnacle of genocide” and has called on Armenians to start a global movement ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference, demanding the release of Armenian military captives and political prisoners from Azerbaijani jails.