Siranush Sahakyan, representative of the interests of Armenian prisoners of war before the European Court of Human Rights and president of the International and Comparative Law Center, together with Veronika Zonabend, wife of Ruben Vardanyan, met on August 17 with representatives of the Human Rights and Humanitarian Issues Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, the Interdepartmental Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing (Whereabouts Unknown) Persons, and the Office of the Human Rights Defender. Sahakyan stated this in response to an inquiry from NEWS.am.

The meeting took place following letters addressed by Veronika Zonabend to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on July 8 and July 31 of this year.

Siranush Sahakyan noted that during the meeting, both parties highlighted the importance of establishing a direct dialogue.  

"We raised a number of humanitarian issues regarding the Armenian prisoners held in the Umbaki prison complex in Azerbaijan, namely their detention conditions, physical condition, the need for medical supervision, the possibility of sending packages and letters, and establishing contact with their families. We also passed along information received from the prisoners' families regarding their detention conditions and stated that we expect active support and practical efforts from the Armenian side to ensure that the prisoners' detention conditions comply with international standards. Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Interdepartmental Commission assured us that these humanitarian issues are at the center of their attention and work is being carried out in that direction," said Siranush Sahakyan.

She shared that the meeting also addressed Veronika Zonabend's initiative to carry out an international women's humanitarian mission to Baku.

"Veronika Zonabend proposed that the government appoint, by the end of August, a person responsible for continuous communication not only regarding issues pertaining to the humanitarian mission, but also the full scope of humanitarian matters. Government representatives promised to discuss and respond to the concerns we raised, as well as to provide the contact details of the responsible person once clarified," noted Siranush Sahakyan.