Armenian POW Ruben Vardanyan Unable to Reach Azerbaijan’s Human Rights Defender as Prison Call Is Abruptly Stopped

Armenian POW Ruben Vardanyan attempted to make a public appeal to Azerbaijan’s Ombudsperson Sabina Aliyeva during a phone call with his family on March 13, but the call was forcibly interrupted, according to a statement released by his family.

The family said Vardanyan decided to address the ombudsperson publicly after repeated attempts to establish contact had failed. According to the statement, for the previous ten days efforts were made to reach the ombudsperson through his lawyer, written requests, and phone calls, but none of these attempts produced results.

“Ruben Vardanyan was forced to take this step because during the previous 10 days, attempts to contact the ombudsperson through his lawyer, through written requests, and by phone calls produced no results. The trials ended one month ago, yet neither Ruben nor, according to our information, the other Armenian prisoners have received the texts of their official verdicts in any language — Russian, Armenian, or Azerbaijani. They do not know under which articles they were convicted, or when and where they will be transferred,” the family said in a statement.

Along with the statement, the family released an audio recording in which Vardanyan can be heard attempting to address the Azerbaijani ombudsperson. However, the message ends abruptly before he is able to finish speaking.

“They do not allow me to address you, so that you — the only person who in this situation there can… I have not been able to receive the verdict for one month — not in Russian, not in Armenian, not in Azerbaijani. I do not know what I have been convicted for and under which articles. I am asking for a meeting so that we can discuss all this. Unfortunately, the Red Cross has left. There is no institution here that can maintain contact with us. The government of the Republic of Armenia has no representation here and is busy with supplies…,” Vardanyan says before being unable to finish his message.

According to the family, the call was cut off by the Azerbaijani side, preventing him from continuing the appeal.

“We also fear that even these short phone calls — the only remaining means of communication — may be stopped,” the family stated.

Vardanyan previously served as the State Minister of Artsakh. A court in Baku sentenced him to 20 years in prison. He was found guilty of several charges, including war against Azerbaijan, financing terrorism, and forced displacement of people.

Vardanyan has denied the accusations and refused to allow his lawyer to present defense arguments during the proceedings. He described the court process as not a trial, but a farce.

—

Support independent reporting from the region by subscribing to The Armenian Report. Our team is funded solely by readers like you.