Markey, Whitehouse lead 27 Senate Democrats demanding release of Armenian hostages
Senate Democratic Leader Schumer supports letter representing 18 states and 160 million Americans calling for Magnitsky Sanctions on Azerbaijani officials
WASHINGTON, D.C. — 27 U.S. Senators — led by Senators Ed Markey (D-MA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and supported by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) — have sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, calling on the Trump Administration to demand the immediate and unconditional release of all Armenian prisoners of war and political prisoners held by Azerbaijan. The letter calls on the Trump Administration to press for international monitors to access sham trials in Baku and impose Global Magnitsky sanctions on Azerbaijani officials responsible for gross human rights violations, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
“The fact that 27 Senate Democrats — more than half the caucus, including Leader Chuck Schumer — signed the Markey-Whitehouse letter demanding Azerbaijan’s immediate release of Armenian hostages elevates Armenian issues on the U.S. foreign policy agenda — meaningfully raising the bar for Congressional Republicans and the Trump-Vance Administration,” said ANCA executive director Aram Hamparian. “Just as importantly, it underscores the growing electoral influence of Armenian American voters — reflecting our standing as a well-organized, highly motivated constituency whose support must be earned. The road to victory in 2026 and 2028 — for both parties — runs directly through our communities in key battleground House districts, Senate races and presidential swing states.”
Azerbaijan holds Armenian leaders hostage in defiance of international law
The Senators’ letter details Azerbaijan’s ongoing detention of at least 23 Armenian prisoners of war captured during and after the 2020 Artsakh War and the 2023 blockade and genocidal ethnic cleansing of Artsakh. Among those detained are former presidents, foreign ministers and parliamentary leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh, including Ruben Vardanyan, Davit Manukyan, Davit Babayan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Arayik Harutyunyan and Davit Ishkhanyan.
“Reports indicate these political hostages…have suffered abuse and degrading treatment in custody, while secrecy and irregularities surrounding proceedings in Baku’s military court cast significant doubt on the fairness and legitimacy of these proceedings,” the Senators wrote. “The Azerbaijani government’s recent expulsion of the International Committee of the Red Cross — the only organization authorized to visit Armenian detainees — further endangers the safety and security of these Armenian political prisoners.”
The letter emphasizes that “it is now two years since Azerbaijan’s blockade and military assault on Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) forcibly displaced the region’s 120,000 Christian Armenians in what international legal experts have characterized as ethnic cleansing.”
Letter calls for prisoner release and Magnitsky Sanctions
The Senators urged Secretary Rubio to take three specific actions in engagements with the government of Azerbaijan: demand the immediate and unconditional release of all Armenian political prisoners and prisoners of war; press Azerbaijani authorities to allow international observers and independent media outlets to monitor proceedings against Armenian political figures; and impose sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act on Azerbaijan officials responsible for gross human rights violations against Armenian prisoners.
“Although we are cautiously hopeful that the recent negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan may usher in a more peaceful future for the region, Azerbaijan’s ongoing hostage diplomacy and unreasonable preconditions jeopardize that progress,” the Senators wrote. “The draft agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan omits any provision for releasing Armenian prisoners. Magnitsky Sanctions remain a critical tool to secure the release of POWs and deter further aggression against Armenia.”
The letter warns that “continued U.S. inaction in the face of Azerbaijan’s authoritarian aggression is unacceptable and will have grave ramifications for U.S. credibility throughout the region, particularly as Armenia seeks to strengthen its ties with the West.”
Strong Senate support includes key defense and foreign policy voices
The September 15, 2025 letter, led by Senators Ed Markey (D-MA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), was signed by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Peter Welch (D-VT).
Signatories include Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and several key Senate committee leaders: Senator Jack Reed, Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee; Senator Gary Peters, Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee; Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee; Senator Ed Markey, Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee; Senator Bernie Sanders, Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee; and Senator Alex Padilla, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration.
The letter also includes Senators with national security and foreign policy roles: Senator Chris Coons, Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense; Senator Tammy Duckworth, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Multilateral International Development, Multilateral Institutions and International Economic, Energy and Environmental Policy; Senator Cory Booker, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy; and Senator Jacky Rosen, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism and Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Cybersecurity.
ANCA mobilizes nationwide support for Senate letter
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has been mobilizing nationwide to secure support for the Markey-Whitehouse letter through direct advocacy on Capitol Hill and in Congressional districts across America. Armenian Americans contacted their Senators through anca.org/prisoners, urging them to cosign the letter before the deadline.
As a follow up to this Senate Democratic effort, the ANCA is working on a parallel Republican-led initiative to build bipartisan support for accountability on Azerbaijan’s human rights abuses and to secure the release of Armenian hostages.
The Senators concluded their letter by stating: “It is both a moral and strategic imperative for the United States to take bold action to compel Azerbaijan to release unjustly detained Armenian prisoners and ensure regional peace is predicated on accountability, justice and the fundamental right of return for Nagorno-Karabakh’s displaced Armenian population.”
The full text of the letter is available here: https://anca.org/assets/pdf/112125_Markey_Armenia_pow_letter.pdf
It is encouraging that the plight of the Armenian hostages and of the Armenian refugees, and the crimes of Azerbaijan, has generated a response and gained the support of 27 U.S. senators. But 73 U.S. senators, including all the Republican senators, have not signed this letter and expressed support. I wonder why? And putting cynicism aside, the senators who signed this, are also from states which have very few Armenians; so seeking the vote from the local Armenian-American electorate, is not always the reason, but are showing a genuine moral stance, which is rare among politicians, and which is often suppressed in order to toe the party lines and presidential directives (if the senators are from the same party as the president).