Siranush Sahakyan visits Toronto Armenian Community Centre and ARS Armenian Day School

TORONTO — On Tuesday, October 6, human rights lawyer Siranush Sahakyan, President of the International and Comparative Law Center and Executive Director of the Armenian Legal Center for Justice and Human Rights, visited the Armenian Community Centre of Toronto and the ARS Armenian Day School.

Sahakyan met with school principal Raffi Sarkissian and members of the staff before addressing students in Grades 9 through 12 on the situation of Armenian prisoners of war and other detainees illegally held in Baku.

A central part of her presentation focused on the show trials of Armenian detainees in Azerbaijan, which have failed to meet basic standards of fairness and due process. Sahakyan discussed proceedings in which Armenian defendants face grave charges in politically charged cases marked by serious problems with evidence handling, access to an effective legal defence, transparency, and respect for fundamental fair-trial guarantees. She also outlined the broader political context surrounding the prosecutions and the use of the judicial process against Armenian detainees.

She also spoke about the conditions in which Armenian detainees are being held, including isolation and severe restrictions on contact with their families. Armenian prisoners have reported being denied basic rights routinely afforded to ordinary detainees, including regular family visits.

Sahakyan was accompanied by Armenian National Committee of Canada Communications Director Lorig Korajian and longtime ANC activists Hagop and Juliette Janbazian.

She will also address a public town hall at the Armenian Community Centre of Toronto at 8:00 p.m. this evening, focusing on the Armenian prisoners, the trials in Baku and ongoing international legal efforts on their behalf.