LOS ANGELES — Prominent human rights attorney Siranush Sahakyan will visit Los Angeles later this month at the invitation of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Western United States of America Central Committee, as international legal efforts intensify on behalf of Armenian prisoners and former Artsakh officials illegally held in Azerbaijan.
Sahakyan, Executive Director of the Armenian Legal Center for Justice and Human Rights and a leading representative of Armenian detainees before the European Court of Human Rights, will take part in a series of meetings and community engagements throughout the Los Angeles area. Her visit will include discussions with civic and community institutions, Armenian organizations, schools, media outlets and other stakeholders regarding the continuing detention of Armenians in Baku and the broader legal struggle for the rights of the people of Artsakh.
The visit comes amid significant new developments in Sahakyan’s work. Last month, she submitted a collective application to the European Court of Human Rights concerning violations of the rights of 15 Armenians held in Azerbaijan, including former political and military leaders of Artsakh. The filing follows a separate application in the case of former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison following proceedings Sahakyan has described as fundamentally illegitimate.
At a recent press conference in Yerevan, Sahakyan warned that the Armenian prisoners are being held in what she called conditions of “absolute isolation.” According to Sahakyan, they have no physical access to relatives, independent doctors or attorneys, consular representatives, or the International Committee of the Red Cross. Their limited telephone calls are monitored and can be interrupted by Azerbaijani authorities, while concerns over deteriorating health and inadequate medical care have also been reported.
Sahakyan has also challenged the legal basis of the proceedings against Vardanyan. Following an examination of the Baku court’s verdict, she said the judgment failed to identify direct testimony establishing that Vardanyan personally committed, ordered or directed many of the acts attributed to him. His case has now been formally brought before the European Court of Human Rights.
The centerpiece of Sahakyan’s Los Angeles visit will be a public Town Hall on Tuesday, September 22, at 7:00 p.m. at the ACF Beshir Mardirossian Youth Center, 75 E. Santa Anita Ave., Burbank. The event, sponsored by the ARF Western United States of America, will focus on the latest developments concerning the Armenian hostages held by Azerbaijan and property claims involving Armenians forcibly displaced from Artsakh.
Admission to the Town Hall is free. Sahakyan will brief the community on the status of the prisoners, ongoing international legal proceedings and efforts to secure accountability and protect the rights of displaced Armenians of Artsakh.
