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Former Artsakh Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan stressed the need for stronger international pressure on Azerbaijan to release Armenian prisoners as he joined a protest outside the UN office in Yerevan on Friday.

“All our efforts are focused on stopping the torture of Armenians illegally detained in Baku and ensuring their repatriation,” he told reporters at the protest.

Stepanyan dismissed skepticism about the effectiveness of such protests, stating, “It’s better to keep fighting than to remain inactive. Drawing the attention of the Armenian authorities and international organizations, including the UN, to this purely humanitarian issue is crucial for generating greater international pressure to secure their release,” the ex-ombudsman said.

Stepanyan underlined that former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan’s statement from the Baku prison confirmed all claims about the politically motivated charges against Armenian prisoners, the violation of their rights and torture in Baku jails.

He criticized the lack of visible efforts by the Armenian authorities to secure their release.

“They claim to address the issue in negotiations, but these efforts aren’t visible. Greater political action is needed,” the former Artsakh official said.

Stepanyan dismissed the call for cooperation with Armenia’s law-enforcement authorities made by the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office as “absurd”.

“We hope and believe that nothing of the kind will happen,” he added.