David Alton’s post:
“Today, the descendants of those same Armenians are once again targeted – this time by Azerbaijan which, in 2023, completed the ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), forcing 120,000 ethnic Armenians from their ancestral homeland. Despite urgent warnings from human rights experts and international bodies, world leaders have yet again looked away.
Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous enclave with Armenian roots dating back to the 2nd century BC, and which I have visited, was blockaded for ten months by Azerbaijan, cutting off food, medicine and vital supplies. It culminated in a September military assault and mass exodus, eerily echoing past atrocities.
We are not speaking hypothetically. A former ICC Chief Prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, has declared that Azerbaijan’s actions meet the legal definition of genocide under Article II(b) of the Genocide Convention. The European Parliament, Genocide Watch and the Lemkin Institute agree. So why is the UK Government still unwilling to call it what it is?
Worse still, Azerbaijan’s assault didn’t end with displacement. 23 Armenians, many of them civilians or elected officials of the former Artsakh Republic, remain detained in Baku under spurious charges of terrorism. One was abducted from a Red Cross convoy. Their treatment – solitary confinement, medical neglect and forced confessions – has been documented by human rights organisations and former detainees. They are denied due process.
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Just days ago, Azerbaijan expelled the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) – the only body allowed access to these prisoners. Alongside the Red Cross, BBC Azerbaijan and other credible media outlets were expelled. This was no accident: it is a calculated attempt to sever the last humanitarian lifeline and eliminate scrutiny of human rights abuses.
The international community must urgently demand the release of the 23 Armenian detainees, ensure international observers are allowed back into Azerbaijan and press for the return of forcibly displaced people. Without these steps, the rule of law is reduced to empty rhetoric.
Crucially, the release of Armenian detainees is not only a matter of justice – it is a precondition for peace. Any agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan cannot be sustainable while prisoners remain unjustly held in Baku. Their freedom is not a concession; it is a litmus test of good faith and a necessary foundation for reconciliation.”
Free Armenian Hostages’s Post
