What changed

on unlawful detention and sham trial of Armenian hostages, including high-ranking political representatives from Nagorno-Karabakh, by Azerbaijan

B100177/2025

B100179/2025

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on unlawful detention and sham trials of Armenian hostages, including high-ranking political representatives from Nagorno-Karabakh, by Azerbaijan

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on unlawful detention and sham trial of Armenian hostages, including high-ranking political representatives from Nagorno-Karabakh, by Azerbaijan

(2025/2596(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to Rule 150 of its Rulesprevious ofresolutions Procedure,on Azerbaijan,

A. whereas on September 19 2023, Azerbaijan resumed its offensive on the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, resulting in the killing of at least 400 people and the forced exodus of around 100,000 Armenians to Armenia;

– having regard to Rules 150 of its Rules of Procedure,

B. whereas the authorities of the self-proclaimed "Artsakh republic" have effectively surrendered; whereas all the political institutions of Artsakh were dissolved on the 1st of January 2024;

whereas on 17 January 2025 the political trial of Armenian prisoners, including eight high-ranking political representatives from Nagorno-Karabakh, began in Baku before a military tribunal;

C. whereas, following the surrender, Azerbaijani forces arrested eight Armenian leaders of the NKR, including Arayik Harutyunyan, Bako Sahakyan, and Ruben Vardanyan, who now face trials in Baku; whereas, they are charged with terrorism, forming illegal armed groups, and war crimes, and face sentences ranging from 20 years to life imprisonment;

whereas most of the defendants were arrested during the September 2023 Azerbaijani military action to recapture the remaining Armenian-held parts of Nagorno-Karabakh; whereas charges against them include “financing terrorism” and “creating illegal armed groups”;

D. whereas, since 2020, Azerbaijan has been destroying, in newly conquered territories, Armenian and Christian historical sites of global importance;

whereas 23 Armenian prisoners remain in Baku’s jails, seven of which have already been sentenced to heavy prison terms—between 15 and 20 years;

E. whereas the European Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the EU and Azerbaijan on a Strategic Partnership in the Field of Energy on July 2022 to double imports of Azeri natural gas to the EU by 2027;

whereas the 2024 Freedom House ranks Azerbaijan as ‘not free’ with an overall score of 7/100 putting it both below Russia and Belarus;

1. Firmly condemns Azerbaijan's attack on Nagorno-Karabakh on September 19, 2023, carried out under the false pretext of an anti-terrorist operation;

Reiterates its profound concern regarding the human rights situation in Azerbaijan, in particular the government’s severe and worsening restrictions on freedoms of expression, assembly and association, and its weaponisation of the legal system;

2. Stresses that the Armenian leaders should be treated as political prisoners rather than terrorists; calls on Azerbaijani authorities to ensure a fair, transparent trial, uphold the right to choose legal defence counsel, and guarantee that the detainees are not subjected to ill-treatment;

Urges the Azerbaijani government to immediately release all those arbitrarily detained in Azerbaijan, including the Armenian defendants, and fully respect their right to a fair trial;

3. Expresses deep concern over the fate of Armenian and Christian cultural heritage in the region; recalls that in the territories seized by Azerbaijan in 2020, Armenian and Christian cultural sites have been systematically destroyed; stresses that the forced mass exodus of Armenians from the region, combined with the destruction of their cultural heritage, constitutes an act of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh;

Expresses its concern about credible reports of the Armenian defendants’ ill-treatment in detention, their coercion into signing falsified case materials and denial to prepare a legal defence; reminds Azerbaijan that it is signatory to both the ECHR and the ICCPR and of its obligations to respect human dignity and fundamental freedoms;

4. Recalls and condemns Turkey's role in destabilizing the region, including its military support to Baku during the 2020 war and sending Syrian Islamists to fight for Aliyev; stresses that Turkey’s actions contradict EU Member States' interests and worsen regional security; reiterates that, in light of these actions, Turkey’s EU accession path should be terminated;

Expresses alarm about the forced closure of the Baku offices of ICRC and UN agencies, hindering support for the Armenian prisoners and humanitarian oversight respectively;

5. Condemns the EU’s lenient stance toward Azerbaijan's hostile actions against Armenia, as well as Azerbaijan's aggressive position toward France, particularly regarding interference in its internal affairs through support for independence movements and the spreading of disinformation in New Caledonia; underlines that the 2022 Memorandum of Understanding on a strategic energy partnership was signed after Azerbaijan's 2020 war, which involved acts of torture, the persecution of Armenians, and the destruction of Armenian and Christian cultural sites;

Reiterates its concern that the EU has maintained business as usual relations with Azerbaijan both in the wake of the 2020 war with Armenia and the catastrophic crackdown on Azerbaijani civil society by the authorities in the last two years;

6. Calls on the EU to stop funding to Azerbaijan, particularly within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and the Eastern Partnership;

Calls on the EU and Member States to prioritize addressing the severe human rights violations in its relations with Azerbaijan; insists that all energy trade relations, including the Memorandum of Understanding on a Strategic Partnership in the Field of Energy, are suspended; considers that any resumption of energy trade must be made conditional on the improvement of the human rights situation and the release of political prisoners;

7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the relevant parties.

Calls on the EU Delegation and EU Member State embassies in Baku to urge the Azerbaijani authorities to grant them access to observe the trials of political prisoners;

Reiterates its call on the European Commission to impose targeted sanctions under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime on those individuals responsible for the grave and consistent human rights violations in Azerbaijan;

Urges Azerbaijan not to unduly delay the signing of a peace treaty with Armenia and stresses the stability and prosperity sustainable peace could bring to the region;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the HRVP, the President and the Parliament of Azerbaijan, and the President, Prime Minister, and Parliament of Armenia.