Forced to Dig Their Own Graves: Sahakyan on Armenian Prisoners

Since the 2020 war, hundreds of Armenians have been taken captive, with preliminary data indicating that the number exceeds 300. Through numerous efforts, approximately 210 prisoners have been repatriated, including individuals who ended up in Azerbaijan due to border incidents or becoming lost.

This was announced today by Siranuhi Sahakyan, the representative of Armenian prisoners and detained persons at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). She noted that no international mechanism for the fight against torture has ever been able to meet with the prisoners there, and communication with the outside world is facilitated through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

“We have held numerous meetings with repatriated prisoners, with the main topics being the conditions of detention and the treatment they received, and we paid special attention to vulnerable groups. Even prisoners exhibiting several signs of vulnerability have not received special protection. They have faced mistreatment with almost the same intensity, whether they are women or belong to older age groups, and are not direct participants in the war. The violence has been systematic, involving both physical and psychological abuse. We have recorded cases where individuals have died in closed facilities due to regular beatings and violence, which was a result of the abuse. Psychological abuse has been applied throughout the entire period of captivity. For example, they have artificially staged murder scenes, placing individuals in situations where they truly understood the prospect of their own death, forcing them to dig their graves where they were to be buried alive,” Sahakyan stated.