Lebanese-Armenian Maral Najarian is said to have been kidnapped on November 10th and is believed to still be in Azeri captivity.
On November 26th, the Armenian news agency Armenpress reported that both Maral and a Lebanese-Armenian man, Viken Euljekdjian, went missing in Artsakh following the ceasefire.
Maral, who survived the Beirut blast and re-settled in Artsakh, had initially been staying in a hotel in Shushi, a city in Nagorno-Karabakh, but took refuge in Goris in Armenia when the war began.
On November 10th, after the armistice was declared, she reportedly went back to the hotel accompanied by Viken in order to retrieve her things. That was the last time the pair was seen.
The High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs, Zareh Sinanyan, told the same news agency that calls to both their phones are being answered by unknown people speaking either Turkish or Azeri.
✔@ECHR_CEDH confirmed that Lebanese-#Armenian repatriate Maral Najarian is imprisoned in #Baku. She was kidnapped in #Shushi on November 10 by Azerbaijani Armed Forces!
I am afraid to imagine her situation in the state with cruelty and Armeniaphobia! pic.twitter.com/aYjL49Qkqs— Tatevik Hayrapetyan (@TatevikHayrape1) January 10, 2021
The unknown people initially claimed that Maral was being held hostage, but later said she was killed. Additionally, no information was offered about Viken.
Now, the European Court of Human Rights has confirmed that Maral is imprisoned in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, according to Armenian MP Tatevik Hayrapetyan.
That would mean she has been in captivity for over 2 months now, despite that the war has ended. She is reportedly joined in captivity by three other women, according to Armenews.
