During a conversation with Armenian News-NEWS.am, advocate of Armenian captives before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), lawyer Siranush Sahakyan said there are supposedly three more Armenian female captives in Azerbaijan besides Lebanese-Armenian Maral Najarian.

“I have presented the data of the three women to relevant organizations. Three female civilians are under the control of Azerbaijan, which doesn’t confirm the circumstances behind the official capture. There are also cases when the displaced persons have been murdered,” Sahakyan stated.

Sahakyan added that two Armenian women were captured during the war, and one was captured after the trilateral statement signed between Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan on November 9, 2020.

Asked if more captives will be returned soon, Sahakyan said the following: “I don’t think there will be such developments in the near future since there are no preconditions in terms of foreign politics. I have addressed the ECHR to forward a document on the issue to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. The ECHR might address the Committee of Ministers so that the issue of failure to implement the immediate measures is considered. This will increase the Council of Europe’s political pressure on Azerbaijan.”

Touching upon the statements of the authorities that Azerbaijan refuses to return the Armenian captives due to the domestic political situation in Armenia, Sahakyan said the following: “From the perspective of the solution to this interstate issue, only negotiations and the position of the negotiator are significant. Domestic political developments don’t have any impact.”