Peters Joins Colleagues in Urging State Department to Help Secure Release of Political Prisoners Held by Azerbaijan
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) joined his colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the Department of State to prioritize the release of Armenian political leaders currently being held illegally by Azerbaijan as prisoners, including as a condition of any peace deal reached by Armenia and Azerbaijan, which the United States is helping to facilitate. The letter also calls on Secretary Blinken to advocate for the right of Nagorno-Karabakh's Armenians to return to their homes under international guarantees, as well as to impose sanctions against Azerbaijani officials responsible for the human rights violations perpetrated by Azerbaijan during its attack on the region in September 2023. The letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Thom Tillis (R-NC). You can read the full letter here.
In the letter to Secretary Blinken, the senators wrote, “In late September and early October, current and former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh’s government were detained, such as Ruben Vardanyan, former State Minister; former Presidents Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, and Arayik Harutyunyan; Davit Babayan, former Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Davit Ishkhanyan, former Speaker of the Parliament, among others. Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General Kamran Aliyev indicated that this was just the beginning, as criminal investigations had been opened against a total of 300 former Nagorno-Karabakh officials.”
The lawmakers also noted, “Denying their freedom and ability to participate in the peace process means that peace is being negotiated without the voice or perspective of those with key knowledge of those affected by Azerbaijan’s atrocities... Requiring the release of political prisoners and prisoners of war is a critical step to achieving a sustainable peace.”
After a 10-month blockade of the Lachin Corridor that prevented food, aid, medicine, and other critical goods from reaching Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale military attack against Nagorno-Karabakh on September 19, 2023. The attack resulted in the deaths of innocent civilians and caused over 100,000 ethnic Armenians in the region to flee for fear of further persecution and violence. Azerbaijan claimed the territory, declared the dissolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh government, and arrested and imprisoned the former government’s political leaders.
Senator Peters visited the Armenia-Azerbaijan border in September 2023 and viewed firsthand the 10-month long blockade of the Lachin corridor. In response to his visit, he introduced the Armenian Protection Act, which unanimously passed in the Senate in November 2023. The Armenian Protection Act would end U.S. assistance to the Azerbaijani government that is currently allowed under a waiver to Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act. Although the Freedom Support Act generally prohibits most bilateral assistance to Azerbaijan, following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, waiver authority was added to Section 907 granting additional discretion to the President to provide aid to Azerbaijan. The waiver authority has been invoked annually by Presidents of both parties since 2002 and the Biden Administration is still reviewing its waiver authority for 2023.
Peters also recently joined a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers calling for the U.S. Treasury Department and U.S. State Department to impose sanctions on certain Azerbaijani government officials associated with the military attacks against – and brutal blockade of – Nagorno-Karabakh.
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