As world leaders convene in Azerbaijan for the UN’s COP29 conference to address the reduction of harmful carbon emissions and the challenges posed by climate change, twenty-three Armenian hostages and political prisoners remain detained in Baku’s prisons without due process. Among them are five Armenian soldiers captured during the 2020 war, eight members of Nagorno-Karabakh’s leadership who were unlawfully arrested in September 2023, and several civilians who were detained during Azerbaijan’s nine-month blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh.
On November 11, 2024, Freedom House released a “New Report: Azerbaijani Regime Ethnically Cleansed Nagorno-Karabakh According to International Fact-Finding Mission.” See Freedom House New Report, Full Report.
On October 3, 2024, Sixty (60) members of the US Senate signed a letter urging Secretary of State Antony Blinken to “press for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, hostages, and POWs, including ethnic Armenians, to enable a more conducive environment for successful diplomacy at COP29.”1 On October 4, 2024, Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan, rejected what he called a “disgusting” letter from U.S. lawmakers who condemned Azerbaijan’s human rights record and urged to free political prisoners, hostages, and POWs before hosting the COP29 climate conference.2
