BY JASMINE SEYMOUR
Special to Asbarez
On the February 5, civilian Davit Davtyan (b.1993) spent his second birthday in captivity. This year he turned 29, and one year ago he turned 28 in Azerbaijan, as a prisoner of war. Majority of the hostages keep silent after their return or provide witness statements anonymously. Following recent open and brave statements from former prisoners of war about physical abuse, mental humiliation, and daily, hourly mistreatment in Azerbaijani prisons, it is hard to imagine they have a “happy” birthday in captivity.
After graduating high school in Yerevan, Davit Davtyan completed the two-year mandatory military service and worked as a chef. He did not participate in the 44-day war, instead, he joined forces with his best friend Gevork Sudjyan to distribute humanitarian assistance—food, medicine and first aid— to the civilian population caught in the devastating war. On November 11, 2020, the day after the ceasefire agreement went into effect, Davit and Gevork were delivering much-needed supplies to residents of Stepanakert, when the connection with them was lost somewhere between Berdzor to Shushi. Later they were recognized among captives in videos posted on social media sites by Azerbaijani soldiers.
Davit’s best friend and now cellmate Gevork Sujyan (b.1989) similarly “celebrated” his birthday in prison on January 21. Recently married, Gevork founded his charitable organization called “New Armenia-Dispora” in 2018, with the noble mission to improve the quality of life of ordinary people living in largely neglected provinces in the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh.
Today, their bereaved families have limited support from organizations or anyone, and limited access to the young men in captivity.
On several occasions, Lilit, Gevork’s 29-year-old wife, had conveyed her deep concerns about the health and well-being of Gevork, and pleaded for his release via national television and media, expressing her anticipation that the Armenian government would secure his release. As both Gevork Sujyan and Davit Davtyan were charity workers well-known to the Armenian authorities, it is unclear why their release was not accomplished during several negotiations that have taken place behind closed doors since December 2020.
According to 1949 Geneva Convention, all prisoners of war should be released immediately after a ceasefire, similarly specified in Article 8 of the November 9, 2020 trilateral Agreement between the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Instead, Gevork Sujyan and Davit Davtyan were tried last summer at Baku’s Court for Grave Crimes and charged under the code of “espionage and illegal border crossing” and sentenced to 15-year years to prison. Those sham trials were carried out without appropriate legal representation (lawyers & translators appointed by Azerbaijani authorities), and were denied the right to appeal.
According to their families, Davit and Gevorg are held together near Baku, and receive monthly visits from officials of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which provides them the only opportunity to call their families and exchange written messages under strict supervision.
The Red Cross officials, restricted by the totalitarian regime in Azerbaijan, are unable to visit Armenian POWs on a weekly basis, as the ICRC mandate allows. This is one of many violations of human rights of civilian hostages and POWs as well as their distraught families. Furthermore, until today, no international monitors, lawyers or human rights organizations have been allowed to access Armenian POWs in captivity or during the sham trials.
Civilians Gevork Sudjyan and Davit Davtyan are among 58 Armenian POWs and civilian hostages who were illegally tried under false accusations since May 2021. Three Armenian prisoners were sentenced the longest prison terms—Vicken Euljekjian, Lyudvig Mkrtchyan and Alyosha Khosrovyan were condemned to 20-year sentences by the Azerbaijani courts.
Lebanese-Armenian civilian Vicken Euljekjian (b.1979) was captured alongside his fiancée Maral Najarian (b.1971) on November 10, 2020 near Shushi, while driving to his Shushi hotel to pick up personal belongings left following the unexpected start of the war on September 27, 2020. After four months in solitary confinement, civilian Maral Najarian was released on March 10, 2021. Meanwhile, Vicken Euljekjian remained in captivity and his sham trial commenced in May. During the court hearings, Vicken defended his innocence, declaring in the court that he never took part in military actions against Azerbaijani forces, was not deployed by the Armenian Defense Army and returned to Yerevan on October 10, 2020, remaining there until the end of the war. Nevertheless, he was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment on June 14.
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Vicken’s and Maral’s initial statements in November 2020 were conducted under mental, psychological, and physical duress. As in the case of Gevork and Davit, Vicken’s communication with his family in Beirut has been irregular, monitored and throttled by authorities and merely occurs once a month. His continuous requests for access to a lawyer and to appeal against his sentence were ignored by Azerbaijani authorities.
On August 2, 2021, servicemen Lyudvig Mkrtchyan (b.1969) and Alyosha Khosrovyan (b.1967) were sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges of ‘’violating customs of war, forming illegal armed groups, and illegally crossing the border of Azerbaijan.” Human rights experts pointed to the lack of evidence that Mkrtchyan and Khosrovyan were guilty. At the same time, Human Rights Watch published a video confirming the use of violence, torture and abuse by the Azerbaijani military against eight Armenian prisoners of war, including against Lyudvig Mkrtchyan.
Russian citizen of Armenian origin Eduard Dubakov (b.1996) was captured in Northern Caucasus on January 18, 2021 and transferred to Baku via Istanbul. According to the prosecution, Eduard, having illegally visited the “previously occupied territories of Azerbaijan,” participated in military exercises in Karvajar region of Artsakh. However, during the war, Eduard did not leave the Russia. He was living with his wife and their new-born child in Krasnodar. Furthermore, in autumn 2020, Dubakov underwent three surgeries and was treated at his place of residence in Krasnodar, therefore he was not fit to serve in the Army. Nevertheless, on July 22, 2021 Eduard was sentenced to serve 10 years in prison. Eduard Dubakov has been trying to appeal this unfair prosecution and to prove his innocence.
When Azerbaijani troops crossed the sovereign border of the Republic Armenia on May 12, 2021, this blatant invasion was hardly acknowledged by the Armenian government within international platforms. Therefore, the breach of internationally recognized borders of a sovereign country has not been condemned either by the United Nations Security Council or the European Union. Azerbaijani troops control at least 42 square kilometres (16 miles) into Armenia, including several key roads connecting Yerevan and Syunik, Kapan, and the highway linking to Georgia.
Unpunished by the international community for crimes against humanity, Azerbaijani forces continue to take hostages from Armenia and Artsakh. On May 27, 2021, six Armenian servicemen were taken hostage by Azerbaijani forces. They were performing engineering works in the Gegharkunik region. Four of them were reportedly released last summer. In the summer and fall of 2021, more Armenian soldiers and civilians have been captured. While some were returned after a mediation by the EU, several have been killed in captivity and bodies returned to distraught families.
On November 17, 2021, it was made public that a preliminary investigation was completed against two remaining Armenian citizens servicemen, Ishkhan Sargsyan and Vladimir Rafaelyan. The materials of the criminal case were referred to the Baku Court for Grave Crimes. The Armenian citizens are accused of “terrorism” under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The court hearings of fabricated criminal cases against Rafaelyan and Sargsyan were held on January 10 and 24. The next hearing is scheduled for February 28.
Gevork and Davit, Lyudwig and Alyosha, Vicken, Eduard, and currently Ishkan and Vladimir are ordinary citizens, whose fate has become extraordinary. They were not offsprings of Armenian politicians or oligarchs, but conventional and modest Armenian families, who just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
There is an urgency now to sound the alarm to the international community to stop the ongoing sham trials of young servicemen Rafaelyan and Sargsyan. If you are friends or family of Ishkan Rafaelyan and Vladimir Sargsyan, please contact British Armenian immediately, to campaign with you against their sham trials and forthcoming Court hearing on 28 February.
Jasmine Seymour is a writer and activists who runs the British Armenian organization, which has been fighting for the release of Armenian prisoners of war and other captives by Azerbaijan. The organization has initiated a petition. Sign it now.
