YEREVAN — Azerbaijan has returned four Armenian detainees to Armenia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced.
“Gevorg Sujyan, Davit Davtyan, Vigen Eoljekjian, and Vagif Khachatryan were just handed over at the Hakari Bridge by representatives of the relevant authorities of the Republic of Azerbaijan to representatives of the Republic of Armenia and are now on Armenian territory,” the prime minister stated.
According to Pashinyan, preliminary medical examinations show that Gevorg Sujyan, Davit Davtyan, and Vigen Eoljekjian have no health issues, while Vagif Khachatryan’s condition is assessed as satisfactory. “They are being transported to Yerevan,” he added.
In a statement, Armenia’s National Security Service said the process was carried out as a practical outcome of the peace established between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan discussed the issue of Armenians held in Azerbaijan with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on January 13. Mirzoyan disclosed this during a remote press conference on January 14, noting that possible steps for U.S. mediation and support on the matter were also discussed.
“We discussed both bilateral cooperation and prospects stemming from TRIPP, as well as potential obstacles that currently do not fully align with the emerging aspirations for peace. The issue of persons held in Azerbaijan is one of those matters,” Mirzoyan said.
On July 29, 2023, Azerbaijan abducted Vagif Khachatryan at an illegally installed checkpoint in the Lachin Corridor while he was being transferred to Armenia for medical treatment under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross. In Baku, he was charged on fabricated accusations of allegedly participating in “genocidal actions against Azerbaijanis” during the first Nagorno-Karabakh war. In November 2023, Khachatryan was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Lebanese-Armenian Vigen Eoljekjian was captured immediately after the 2020 war. In 2021, Azerbaijan charged him with “mercenarism,” “terrorism,” and “illegal crossing of the Azerbaijani state border.” A Baku court sentenced him to 20 years in prison.
Gevorg Sujyan and Davit Davtyan were captured in November 2020, after the end of hostilities in Artsakh. During the war, Sujyan, together with friends, was delivering humanitarian aid to Artsakh. Azerbaijan accused both Sujyan and Davtyan of espionage, sentencing them to 15 years in prison.
Separately, Armenia’s Ministry of Justice announced that Armenia has transferred to Syria two individuals sentenced to life imprisonment in Armenia—Yousef Abed Al-Haj and Muhrrab Mohammad Al-Shkher.
According to the statement, on January 14, 2026, Syrian Arab Republic citizens Yousef Abed Al-Haj and Muhrrab Mohammad Al-Shkher, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment in the Republic of Armenia, were transferred via the Republic of Turkey to the competent authorities of the Syrian Arab Republic to continue serving their sentences in their country of citizenship. The transfer was carried out through cooperation between the relevant authorities and in accordance with applicable legal mechanisms.