We say that change is needed; until we make that change, these people will remain suffering in Baku prisons. Opposition Strong Armenia party chairman Samvel Karapetyan told this to reporters on Friday, regarding the Armenian prisoners in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.

“If we were in power [in Armenia], we would have brought our [Armenian] captives [in Azerbaijan] back very quickly with our capabilities, which your [Armenian PM Nikol] Pashinyan does not have,” Karapetyan said. When asked why he is not using those capabilities now to resolve the matter, he replied: “Now Pashinyan is your choice. Without the leverage of power, how do we bring [them back]?”

Samvel Karapetyan expressed a conviction that the Armenian authorities have neither the ability nor the desire to have these Armenian prisoners returned. “Of course, they [i.e. the Armenian authorities] do not want another ‘headache.’ If these people come [back to Armenia], they can speak a lot,” he said.