Ruben Vardanyan, the former minister of state in the Nagorno Karabakh government, has begun a hunger strike in jail in Baku. Vardanyan is one of eight former government officials to be held hostage in Azerbaijan, which invaded the republic in September 2023, driving out its Armenian Christian population.
Ruben Vardanyan is an entrepreneur and philanthropist. freearmenianprisoners.com
Update, May 2: Ruben Vardanyan ended his hunger strike on April 25, after his captors allowed him to speak with his family.
Concerns are growing over the health of Ruben Vardanyan, a philanthropist and the former minister of state in Nagorno Karabakh, also known as the Republic of Artsakh. Vardanyan was kidnapped by Azerbaijani forces after they invaded and conquered Nagorno Karabakh in September last year, and he has been illegally detained since then.
The 55 year old began a hunger strike on April 5 to demand his immediate and unconditional release and that of all other political prisoners from Nagorno Karabakh, his family reported.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the family said Vardanyan and his counsel had made repeated requests for a fair and transparent trial held in a timely manner. His trial had been slated to start in January 2024 but was delayed without explanation until May.
In September, the armed forces of Azerbaijan attacked Nagorno Karabakh after a nine-month siege, killing hundreds and forcing its 100,000 Armenian Christian inhabitants to flee to neighboring Armenia. The attack destroyed one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, and has been described by many human rights experts as an act of genocide.
After Vardanyan began his protest action, he was prevented from contacting his family by telephone, in violation of international norms. Following the family’s urgent appeal to the international community, he was allowed to make contact for the first time in two weeks, they reported in a follow-up post on X.
The businessman told his family that since April 5 he had been kept in solitary confinement without access to reading materials.
“As far as we know, he only has his blood pressure measured and nothing else,” Vardanyan’s family said. “[This] makes us even more concerned about his deteriorating health condition.”
“We demand that Azerbaijan allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit him immediately to secure independent evidence of his well-being, and ensure he is provided all proper medical attention during his hunger strike,” the post continued.
According to Vardanyan’s family, he concluded the phone call by saying, “I am now more convinced than ever before that values and principles are more important than even life itself.”
Meanwhile, two dozen non-governmental organizations from Nagorno Karabakh have addressed an urgent appeal to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), regarding Ruben Vardanyan’s state of health.
“We are deeply concerned about the deterioration in his health and the potential consequences of the hunger strike,” the signatories wrote in an open letter to ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger. “Therefore we raise the alarm, urging the ICRC to take immediate actions to address Mr. Vardanyan’s condition.”
The signatories also draw attention to the other Armenians detained alongside Vardanyan. These include high-ranking officials of the deposed government of Artsakh as well as former government officials: Arkady Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Arayik Harutyunyan, David Ishkhanyan, David Babayan, Levon Mnatsakanyan and David Manukyan. They also include a number of Armenian soldiers and civilians kidnapped by Azerbaijan over the past four years.
Ruben Vardanyan is not the first hostage in Azerbaijan to have resorted to a hunger strike to draw attention to his plight. Armenian civilian Vicken Euljekjian, who has been illegally held by Baku since November 2020, also refused food for a time last year. Euljekjian was protesting at being forced by the prison authorities to communicate with his Lebanese wife in Armenian, a language she does not understand.
“My husband went on a hunger strike for 24 days to be allowed to speak to me in Arabic,” Linda Euljekjian told CSI. The couple is now permitted to speak to each other in Arabic.
CSI calls for the immediate release of Vicken Euljekjian and all the Armenians hostages being held by Baku.
