The world is watching Azerbaijan: Austrian MPs calling for release of Armenian political prisoners

Paul Fletcher, Member of the Australian Parliament, has penned a letter to the Azerbaijani Embassy calling for the immediate release of Davit Ishkhanyan, former Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh.

The letter addressed to Vagif Jafarov, Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, calls on the Azerbaijani representative to provide regular updates as to the condition of Ishkhanyan’s mental and physical health on a monthly basis.

Ishkhanyan is one of twenty-three Armenian hostages known to be held captive by Azerbaijani forces since the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh.

Fletcher ended his letter with the following powerful remarks: “The world is watching Azerbaijan. Australia is watching Azerbaijan.”

Michael Sukkar, another member of the Australian Parliament, also appealed to Vagif Jafarov, calling for the immediate release of Bako Sahakyan, Armenian political prisoner and former President of the Republic of Artsakh.

In his letter, Sukkar advised the embassy of his intention to act as a sponsor for Sahakyan and urged the Embassy to provide monthly updates on Sahakyans’s physical and mental well-being.

In his letter to Jafarov, Sukkar said: “My decision to sponsor Mr Sahakyan comes in the wake of reports from the lawyers of Armenian political prisoners, in particular Jared Genser who wrote to the UN Special Rapporteur on torture detailing harrowing cases of inhumane treatment.”