The case of Vicken Euljekjian, an Armenian Christian illegally detained in Azerbaijan, exemplifies Azerbaijan’s ongoing persecution of Christian Armenians, according to an influential human rights watchdog. CSI is campaigning for the release of Euljekjian and the other 22 Armenian detainees in Azerbaijan.
Vicken Euljekjian has been imprisoned in Baku for more than four years. Libertas
The Center for Truth and Justice (CFTJ) says Vicken Euljekjian, who is serving a 20-year prison term in Azerbaijan, has been victimized “due to his Armenian ethnicity and Christian faith.” In a report released on February 17, the United States-based NGO says his case is “emblematic of Azerbaijan’s systematic targeting of Armenian Christians.”
Euljekjian, aged 45, is a citizen of both Armenia and Lebanon. A descendant of survivors of the Armenian Genocide of 1915, he relocated to Nagorno Karabakh from Lebanon in 2020 to start a business. However, that September he left again for Armenia when Azerbaijan started the second large-scale war in Nagorno Karabakh. On November 10, 2020, the day after a ceasefire came into effect, he was returning to collect some possessions when the Azerbaijani military captured him near Shushi.
The CFTJ report points out that Euljekjian “was neither a fighter nor a combatant but an Armenian citizen who was kidnapped and unlawfully transferred to prison in Baku.” Nearly seven months later a court in Baku sentenced him to 20 years’ prison on trumped up charges of acting as a mercenary, terrorism and illegally crossing the Azerbaijani state border.
Vicken Euljekjian is a devout Christian who has a tattoo of a cross on his hand, according to the CFTJ. It refers to a televised interrogation following his detention, during which his family observed visible burns on his hand. They believe there was a deliberate attempt to blur or erase his cross tattoo.
“This incident strongly suggests that Vicken was subjected to religiously motivated violence, aligning with broader patterns of religious persecution documented by the CFTJ,” the report says.
“Vicken’s case is emblematic of Azerbaijan’s systematic targeting of Armenian Christians,” it continues. According to the CFTJ, religious persecution is a “recurring theme” in the testimonies of Armenian detainees. Many reported coming under pressure to renounce their faith or being threatened with violence over religious symbols they wore on their bodies.
These actions reflect the Azerbaijani authorities’ broader “genocidal policy” against Armenians who are targeted on account of their ethnicity and faith, the report argues.
The report also highlights the “systematic torture and inhumane treatment” suffered by Euljekjian in the more than four years he has spent in jail.
During his initial detention, his captors beat him so severely that he lost consciousness. He was also blindfolded and subjected to mock executions, the CFTJ report says.
The prison authorities have denied Euljekjian access to proper food and medical care, and have failed to treat a digestive disorder, it continues. This has resulted in weight loss and pain.
CSI understands that his health was further impacted by a hunger strike that he staged in 2023 in protest at being forced by the prison authorities to communicate with his Lebanese wife in Armenian, a language she does not understand.
The abuse – physical and psychological – that he has suffered has resulted in a deterioration in Euljekjian’s mental health. The CFTJ says that in a phone call with his family on January 9, he expressed suicidal thoughts. He also told them that he had informed the International Committee of the Red Cross of his intention to end his life. “Despite this, no intervention has been made to address his deteriorating condition,” the report says.
It The CFTJ concludes that Euljekjian’s “ongoing detention under fabricated charges and the inhumane conditions he faces represent an urgent humanitarian and human rights concern.”
CSI shares the CFTJ’s concern over the plight of Vicken Euljekjian, and the other 22 Armenian captives in Azerbaijan, and has consistently called for their release. Since March 2024, it has sponsored Euljekjian as part of the Libertas campaign for the release of the Armenian prisoners.
