Nearly a year has passed since the last Armenia-Azerbaijan prisoner swap, which came just months after Azerbaijani forces captured Nagorno-Karabakh and drove more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians from the disputed region. According to human rights lawyers, at least 23 Armenian prisoners of war and civilian detainees remain in Azerbaijani custody. With the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP29) set to take place in Baku from November 11-22, some experts speculate that increased international attention might spur Azerbaijan to let them go or even sign a peace deal with Yerevan. But while both sides claim progress at the negotiating table, Armenian officials say the return of these prisoners isn’t part of the draft agreement. Journalist Sona Hovsepyan reports for The Beet. 

This story first appeared in The Beet, a weekly email dispatch from Meduza covering Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. Sign up here to get the next issue delivered directly to your inbox.

Vicken Euljeckjian moved from Lebanon to Armenia in 2018, hoping for a fresh start. With Lebanon embroiled in conflict and on the brink of an economic crisis, Vicken believed that his homeland would offer safety and prosperity. 

He took on various jobs to make ends meet before settling in Shushi, the second-largest city in Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed enclave internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. Vicken’s wife and children, who had stayed in Beirut, planned to reunite with him there. Then, in September 2020, the unresolved conflict over Karabakh escalated into an all-out war between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

As a dual Armenian-Lebanese citizen, Vicken volunteered to join the army at the start of the war. However, he returned to Yerevan just a few days later, his family said. The war lasted six weeks, ending with a Russia-brokered ceasefire on November 9 (the day after Azerbaijan announced that it had captured Shushi, which Azerbaijanis call Shusha). 

Believing it was safe to return, Vicken set out for Nagorno-Karabakh along with another Lebanese-Armenian, Maral Najarian. Vicken’s son, Serge Euljeckjian, remembers talking to his father on the phone while he was en route. “He said, ‘I’m going to pick up my belongings from Shushi, and then I’ll call you,’” Serge told The Beet.

Vicken never called back. Three months later, his family learned that he and Maral had been captured by Azerbaijani soldiers and sent to Baku. Azerbaijan released Maral in March 2021, but Vicken went on trial for terrorism, illegal border crossing, and fighting as a mercenary (investigators alleged that he was paid $2,500); a Baku court subsequently sentenced him to 20 years in prison.

Four years later, Vicken is one of 23 Armenian prisoners of war and civilian detainees languishing in Azerbaijani jails as officials in Yerevan and Baku claim to be making progress on a peace deal that reportedly does not include the issue of their release. 

‘He didn’t even take up arms’

The most recent prisoner swap between Armenia and Azerbaijan took place last December, after Yerevan lifted its veto on Baku hosting the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP29), resulting in the exchange of 32 Armenian service members for the last two Azerbaijani soldiers in Armenia’s custody. 

According to his family, Vicken Euljeckjian, 44, was supposed to be included in this swap. “The Red Cross informed us that Vicken was among the returning captives. However, at the last moment, my father was removed from the flight. The Red Cross had already collected his documents, but Azerbaijan released someone else in his place,” Serge recalled. “Later, the Red Cross contacted us, explaining that Vicken’s name had been removed from the list, though they couldn’t provide a reason why.”

Gevorg Sujyan, 35, and Davit Davtyan, 31, also weren’t included in the exchange. Like Vicken, the two men were captured just after the 2020 ceasefire; they disappeared on November 11, while transporting humanitarian aid to Nagorno-Karabakh via the Lachin corridor, the mountain road linking the region to Armenia. “After the war, there was no word from him. We desperately searched for him,” recalled Tigran Davtyan, Davit’s father.

The family’s search led them to Karabakh, where they even obtained lists of the deceased from the morgues. Then, Davit and Gevorg were spotted in a video of Armenian prisoners circulating online. The Red Cross later confirmed that Azerbaijani soldiers had captured them. A Baku court sentenced both men to 15 years in prison on charges of “espionage and illegal border crossing” in July 2021.

“Gevorg’s only purpose in going to Artsakh [the Armenian name for Karabakh] was to provide humanitarian aid and support those in need,” said his wife, Lilit Sujyan. “Gevorg didn’t do anything wrong — he didn’t even take up arms during the war. Azerbaijan convicted him on fabricated charges.”

Both the Armenian authorities and international rights organizations have long raised concerns about Azerbaijan’s treatment of prisoners of war and civilian detainees. In a 2021 report, Human Rights Watch documented the torture and ill-treatment of Armenian POWs in Azerbaijani custody; Baku rejected the findings as “one-sided” and lacking objectivity.

According to the U.S. State Department’s human rights report on Azerbaijan, public trials of Armenian soldiers and civilians lacked essential elements of due process. The report notes that in Vicken’s case, Azerbaijani authorities released a video of him confessing “under apparent duress” and didn’t allow him to choose his own lawyer. 

“Court proceedings in the case of civilians Gevorg Sujyan and Davit Davtyan similarly violated due process by failing to provide them with independent legal counsel of their own choosing; compelling both to testify against themselves or confess guilt; and not allowing them to call and examine their own witnesses,” the report states.

In late 2021, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights called on Azerbaijan to release Armenian prisoners of war and other detainees under the Geneva Conventions. In response, Baku accused the Commissioner of “gross interference” in its internal affairs, maintaining that all Armenian POWs had been released and the remaining detainees were serving criminal sentences handed down by “competent courts.”

In a recent statement, Armenian Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan said that the fundamental rights of Armenians detained in Azerbaijan cannot be guaranteed, due to “an atmosphere of hatred towards ethnic Armenians and the violation of the presumption of innocence.” In response to The Beet’s questions, Manasyan’s adviser, Arthur Aslanyan, echoed these concerns. “A fair trial and proper handling of their cases, following the rules of due process, cannot be guaranteed by a partial court,” Aslanyan said.

‘Severe psychological pressure’

The Red Cross is the only organization permitted to visit the Armenian detainees held in Baku. Zara Amatuni, the communications and prevention manager for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Armenia, told The Beet that the organization conducts regular visits. However, she declined to disclose any details about the captives’ conditions, citing confidentiality.

“In general, the Red Cross does not publicly address individual cases when visiting detention facilities. However, I can confirm that we have met with all individuals held in Baku whose detention has been acknowledged by the Azerbaijani government,” Amatuni said.

During a recent Red Cross visit, Vicken was able to telephone his wife, Linda Euljeckjian, who hadn’t heard from him in four months. “Vicken told me he’s fine, but he wouldn’t answer my questions about why he hadn’t called me for so long,” Linda said. The Red Cross, which visited Vicken during this period, didn’t explain the lack of communication to his family. “This confirms my worst fears — that he’s not psychologically well,” said Linda. “For two years, I’ve been saying that Vicken’s mental state is deteriorating. He needs sedatives and is under severe psychological pressure.” 

Lilit Sujyan, who also maintains contact with her husband Gevorg through the Red Cross, said their conversations mainly revolve around their 12-year-old son. “This situation is most difficult for our son,” she added.

According to the ICRC office in Baku, the Red Cross facilitated the return of roughly 700 Armenian and Azerbaijani captives between 1990 and 2020. The most recent prisoner exchange, in December 2023, came just months after Azerbaijan took full control of Nagorno-Karabakh in a 24-hour offensive that led to the fall of its de facto government, the internationally unrecognized Republic of Artsakh. More than 100,000 ethnic Armenians subsequently fled the region, while Azerbaijani security forces arrested former Artsakh leaders, including de facto former president Arayik Harutyunyan and Armenian-Russian billionaire Ruben Vardanyan. 

The confirmed list of Armenians jailed in Azerbaijan reportedly includes five civilians, 10 soldiers, and eight ex-Karabakh officials. Human rights lawyers also claim that another 80 Armenians who are officially unaccounted for are actually in Azerbaijani custody. 

Azerbaijan has brought a variety of charges against the former Karabakh officials, mainly related to terrorism, but it’s unclear when they will stand trial. Vardanyan, who relinquished his Russian citizenship in 2022 and took office as Karabakh’s state minister, mounted a hunger strike earlier this year to protest his detention. His lawyers then filed lawsuits against Baku in October, alleging Vardanyan had been tortured and denied the right to a speedy trial.

The Armenian government has also filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights accusing Baku of violating the rights of Armenian prisoners. However, Vardanyan’s son David recently told Eurasianet that he didn’t know if officials in Yerevan are engaging Azerbaijan on the issue in other ways. “There hasn’t been any concrete discussion or steps voiced to us by the Armenian government,” he said. “I remain hopeful that something is being done behind the scenes.”

The bank that made Vardanyan his fortune, Troika Dialog, was implicated in a vast money laundering scheme in 2019. In a 2023 interview with Meduza, Vardanyan rejected the notion that he’d renounced his Russian citizenship and relocated to Karabakh to evade the threat of Western sanctions. However, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has since publicly questioned Vardanyan’s motivations for moving to the disputed region.

David Vardanyan maintains that his father was motivated by a sense of Armenian patriotism. “He knew there was a worse outcome for him than being taken prisoner,” Vardanyan Jr. told Eurasianet. “Yet he decided to go.”

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‘Negotiations are in Baku’s hands’

In September, amid reports that Baku and Yerevan were making progress in their on-and-off negotiations over a potential peace treaty, Armenian National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan told journalists that the draft agreement didn’t cover the issue of Armenian prisoners. “Talks on the issue of captives are taking place in all formats, but they are not included in the peace treaty,” he said.

Earlier, both sides announced that approximately 80 percent of the agreement’s terms had been reached and suggested signing the peace deal ahead of COP29, which is scheduled to take place in Baku from November 11–22.

Prime Minister Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev resumed the discussions on October 24, on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan. Following the meeting, both leaders instructed their foreign ministers to continue negotiations and finalize the peace treaty “in the shortest possible period.” 

But the approaching U.N. climate summit has put the issue of Armenian prisoners back in the spotlight. More than 50 Armenian NGOs have issued a joint appeal calling on COP29 participants to pressure Baku to release Armenian detainees. Opposition factions in the Armenian parliament have also moved to convene a special session on the issue while insisting that Armenian officials should boycott COP29. 

“A delegation from Armenia cannot participate in the ‘international show’ initiated by Aliyev if we still have prisoners of war and hostages in Baku,” said Ishkhan Saghatelyan, a lawmaker from the opposition Armenia Alliance. In turn, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said that Yerevan has yet to confirm its attendance.

Though some analysts have speculated that Baku may sign a peace deal or release Armenian prisoners before COP29, others remain skeptical. Armenian media reports have also suggested that Mirzoyan may consider attending the climate summit if Baku agrees to return the detainees.

According to Armenian National Security Service Director Armen Abazyan, Armenia and Azerbaijan are expected to hold a meeting in the near future on the issue of detainees and missing persons. However, there has been no corresponding announcement from the Azerbaijani side. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to The Beet’s questions about Armenian prisoners held in Baku or the possible meeting.

Olesya Vartanyan, a security analyst focused on the South Caucasus, said that although the touted agreement may not resolve all issues that have built up over the past three decades of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, it could establish a framework for continued dialogue and cooperation. “I am afraid that, overall, the hope for peace process negotiations is very much in Baku’s hands. It’s about what Azerbaijan decides to do, and it’s not only about POWs,” she told The Beet.

In addition to helping prevent future escalations in the region, the potential peace treaty could also open the long-closed Armenian-Turkish border, Vartanyan added (something Ankara has repeatedly stated as a precondition for normalizing diplomatic relations).

Siranush Sahakyan, an international law specialist representing the Armenian detainees at the European Court of Human Rights, warned that Azerbaijan will likely continue to use Armenian captives as leverage to extract further concessions from Yerevan. “Without the political support of Armenia, this event [COP29] could not have been implemented. Armenia’s support for Azerbaijan in this matter reflects a political entanglement rather than a legal resolution,” Sahakyan argued.

In the meantime, the prisoners’ families are holding out hope for their speedy return. “We live in hope, and I pray that Azerbaijan will release them soon. I want to see my husband healthy and home again,” said Linda. “We are tired, and I hope peace comes to the region so this suffering can finally end.”

Hello, I’m Eilish Hart, the editor of The Beet. Thanks for taking the time to read our work! Our newsletter delivers underreported stories like this one to subscribers every Thursday. Like all of Meduza’s reporting, it’s free to read but relies on support from readers like you. Please consider donating to our crowdfunding campaign.