OMM Newsroom
Families of missing Azerbaijanis held another peaceful protest at the historic Place de l’Albertine, a popular tourist spot in the Belgian capital, Brussels. The event was organized by the Karabakh Missing Families Public Union.
The demonstration continued a series of protests held on Oct. 20 outside the European Parliament at Place du Luxembourg and on Oct. 21 at Schuman Square, where key European Union institutions are located, the "Operativ Məlumat Mərkəzi-OMM" reports.
A special installation featuring photographs, clothes and envelopes belonging to missing Azerbaijanis was displayed during the protest. The envelopes carried poignant messages written in the voice of the missing, including: “I am not just a number. I have a name and a family” and “I am still someone’s child. How long must my family wait?” Through the letters, Azerbaijanis whose voices have gone unheard for more than 30 years seemed to break the silence and address the world.
Visitors who viewed the installation wrote messages of support for the families, tied commemorative ribbons and laid flowers in a show of solidarity.
Visitors were told that 4,010 Azerbaijanis went missing during Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani territories, including 71 children, 288 women and 319 elderly people.
Konul Behbudova, chair of the Karabakh Missing Families Public Union and sister of missing serviceman Abbas Behbudov, condemned Armenia’s silence over the missing Azerbaijanis as unacceptable and called for information about their fate to be provided to Azerbaijan.
Farida Jabbarova, wife of missing Azad Jabbarov; Reyhan Janiyeva, wife of missing Sakhavat Janiyev; Sevinc Hajiyeva, daughter of Ahmad Mammadov; Mahuru Shahin, mother of Shahin Aliyev; Nazana Aliyeva, wife of Abulfat Aliyev; and Parvana Mammadova, wife of Ogtay Mammadov, spoke to visitors about the absence of their loved ones, the uncertainty that has endured for years and the suffering it has caused their families.
The families’ central appeal to the international community remains unchanged: “We do not simply want to remember our loved ones; we want to know the truth about their fate. No family should have to wait forever!”
As they also said during an Oct. 21, 2026, meeting in Brussels with Okke Bouwman, political adviser to the EU special representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, and Marco Cardinali, coordinator for relations with Azerbaijan, at the European External Action Service (EEAS), the families will continue their protests internationally until the fate of their loved ones is clarified.
The Karabakh Missing Families Public Union won a grant competition held by Azerbaijan’s NGO Agency for 2026 with its “Echo of Absence” project.
