Latest posts
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Armenia ombudsperson says no mandate to visit Armenian detainees in Baku after Vardanyan appeal
By Siranush Adamyan Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan said her office has no mandate to organize visits to Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan, responding to a public appeal by former Nagorno-Karabakh official Ruben Vardanyan. The statement released on Wednesday came after Vardanyan, writing from detention in Baku through a message relayed to relatives, urged Manasyan to travel to…
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Statement by Ruben Vardanyan Addressed to the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia, Anahit Manasyan
(Conveyed during a telephone conversation with family) Dear Ms. Manasyan, I am writing to you from detention, in connection with circumstances that, in my view, call for the active and sustained engagement of the institution you lead. I recently had a meeting with the Ombudsman of Azerbaijan, Sabina Aliyeva. During that meeting, I raised a…
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Armenian prisoners in Baku to appeal directly to ECHR
(Horizon Weekly / YEREVAN) – Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan are preparing to apply directly to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), arguing that domestic legal avenues in Azerbaijan do not provide effective recourse, according to attorney Siranush Sahakyan. Sahakyan — who represents Armenian prisoners of war and detainees before the Strasbourg-based court and…
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Ruben Vardanyan Remains Defiant In Face Of Azerbaijani Life Sentence
Ruben Vardanyan, a prominent Armenian businessman and former Nagorno-Karabakh premier, has issued another defiant statement from an Azerbaijani prison as he faced a life sentence at the end of his trial in Baku. According to Vardanyan’s family in Armenia, he read out the statement to his elder son, David, in a phone call on Wednesday,…
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Pashinyan seeks updates from U.S. on efforts to free Armenian captives in Azerbaijan
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday that he recently asked a U.S. official visiting Yerevan to provide updates on the Trump Administration’s efforts to secure the release of Armenian captives held in Azerbaijan following the U.S. President’s pledge to do so. Pashinyan said at a press briefing that during his meeting with U.S. Under…
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Armenian prisoners are being tortured
The violence against Vicken Euljekjian led to disability “During phone conversations with the family members of Armenian captives, we continuously receive alarming information that our compatriots held in Baku prisons are being subjected to torture, and that prolonged deprivation of liberty has led to not only psychological but also serious physical consequences. Yesterday, Vicken Euljekjian’s…
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The Baku court has rejected the motion to recuse R. Vardanyan’s interpreter
The Baku court has rejected the motion to recuse Islam Aghakarimov, the interpreter of Ruben Vardanyan, the former State Minister of Artsakh, who is being unlawfully held. The only media allowed to attend the “trials”, the Azerbaijan State News Agency AZERTAC today reported: “It was then noted that during one of the previous sessions, the…
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The condition of Vicken Euljekjian, who is being held in a Baku prison, has sharply deteriorated
Vicken Euljekjian (Vigen Euljekchyan, Vigen Eoljekchian), who is being unlawfully held in a Baku prison, made a short phone call to his family on November 16 after a 45-day communication ban. Euljekjian said that he can no longer walk, his physical condition has sharply deteriorated, and he needs a wheelchair, which has not been provided.…
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“We Must Be Vigilant and Resist This Dangerous Process,” Says Grigori Ayvazyan
Following the ongoing trial in Baku’s military court against the former military-political leadership of Artsakh and other Armenian captives, prosecutors have demanded that the court sentence one former president of Artsakh, the former speaker of the National Assembly, and a former Foreign Minister, David Babayan, to life imprisonment. For the remaining Armenian captives have requested…
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Former envoy: The issue of releasing detainees held in Baku could have been resolved at the meeting with Trump — either it was not raised, or not raised properly
The issue of securing the release of Armenian detainees and hostages held in Baku could have been resolved during the August 8 meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, but it was not, said Edmond Marukyan, former Ambassador-at-Large and leader of the “Bright Armenia” party, in an interview with Pastinfo. “I believe the issue of the…