ANC–International Publishes Dossier on 20 Armenian Hostages Being Held by Aze

The Armenian National Committee–International on Thursday released a dossier it published enitled, “The Armenian Hostages: POWs, Civilians and Political Prisoners Still Held by Azerbaijan.” The dossier documents the situation of the 20 Armenians whom Azerbaijan continues to hold more than three years after the forced displacement of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).

The 20 include former political and military leaders of the Republic of Artsakh, civilians and prisoners of war. Two have been held since the 2020 war. All have been convicted and are serving sentences from 15 years to life imprisonment. The dossier traces how each came to be held and includes a profile of each of the 20.

The dossier records:

• trials before a military court, largely closed to observers, with verdicts not provided to the defense in full;
• no visit by the International Committee of the Red Cross since December 2025;
• a Council of Europe anti-torture committee report that remains unpublished without Azerbaijan’s consent;
• applications pending before the European Court of Human Rights;
• the response of parliaments, governments and human rights organizations, and Armenia’s account of unsuccessful efforts to arrange visits through third countries.

“Releases so far have come only as part of political bargains,” ANC–International said. “These are hostages, and their release should be immediate and unconditional, without exchanges or political concessions.”

Pending release, the dossier calls for:

• regular independent humanitarian access and medical assessment;
• unrestricted family and legal contact;
• publication of the anti-torture committee’s report;
• full compliance with the European Court’s requests;
• effective investigation of the fate of at least 80 Armenians captured in 2020 who remain unaccounted for.

The dossier complements ANC–International’s Special Report “Justice” According to Azerbaijan: The Prosecution, Trial and Conviction of Ruben Vardanyan (revised edition, 27 October 2026), which examines the published indictment and judgment in Vardanyan’s case.