SYDNEY: Artsakh Hostage Protection Sponsors Mr. Tim James MP, Co-Chair of the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Armenia and Member for Willoughby, and Mr. Matt Cross MP, Member for Davidson, have reaffirmed their support and calls for the immediate release of the Artsakh-Armenian hostages after 1,000 days since their unlawful imprisonment in Azerbaijan.
Mr. James and Mr. Cross act as the protection sponsors for Mr. Levon Mnatsakanyan, Former Minister of Defence of Artsakh, and Mr. Davit Ishkhanyan, Former President of the National Assembly of Artsakh, respectively.
In light of a May 2026 report published by the International Commission of Jurists concluding the trials, held in an Azerbaijani military court, “fell short of the guarantees of fairness and equality of arms required under international human rights law”, Mr. James and Mr. Cross highlighted the trials’ unlawful nature, with the hostages simply supporting their people’s right to self-determination.
In his video statement, Mr. James said: “[Levon Mnatsakanyan] was doing his duty in defense of his homeland, and has now for 1,000 days been imprisoned in the harshest conditions; been the subject of Soviet-like show trials without any basic justice afforded to him.” To watch the full video, click
here.In a similar video, Mr. Cross asserted: “It’s not good enough. We need freedom for him [Davit Ishkhanyan]. We need freedom for Artsakh.” To watch the full video, click
here.Despite these calls, the Australian Government is yet to publicly condemn these unlawful imprisonments, nor call for the hostages’ immediate and unconditional release.
The Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) has welcomed the videos published by Mr. James and Mr. Cross, expressing the community’s gratitude for their respective calls for the immediate release of the hostages.
ANC-AU Political Affairs Director, Sebastian Majarian said: “We express our thanks to Mr. James and Mr. Cross for their continued solidarity with our community and their unwavering advocacy for the release of the Artsakh hostages.”
Majarian continued: “We must continue to keep this issue at the forefront and urge the Australian Government to condemn these unlawful imprisonments and call for the immediate and unconditional release of the Artsakh-Armenian hostages."
