Nikol Pashinyan announced that four Armenian hostages, Gevorg Sujyan, Davit Davtyan, Vicken Euljekjian, and Vagif Khachatryan, were transferred from Azerbaijani custody to Armenian authorities at the Berdzor (Lachin) Bridge and are now on the territory of the Republic of Armenia.
Gevorg Sujyan and Davit Davtyan were taken captive on November 11, 2020, after the ceasefire, while traveling through the Berdzor (Lachin) corridor toward Shushi.
Vicken Euljekjian was taken captive on November 10, 2020, in Shushi, one day after the ceasefire.
Vagif Khachatryan was abducted on July 29, 2023, at the illegal Azerbaijani checkpoint on the Berdzor (Lachin) corridor near the Hakari Bridge while being transported by the ICRC from Artsakh to Armenia for urgent medical treatment during the Artsakh blockade.
All four had previously been tried and declared “guilty” by Azerbaijani courts in proceedings widely described as politically motivated and lacking due process. Sujyan and Davtyan were sentenced to 15 years on July 28, 2021. Euljekjian was sentenced to 20 years on June 14, 2021. Khachatryan was sentenced to 15 years on November 7, 2023.
At least 19 Armenians continue to remain unlawfully detained in Baku prisons.
