{"id":815,"date":"2025-02-17T13:07:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T13:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/?p=815"},"modified":"2025-03-10T19:24:33","modified_gmt":"2025-03-10T19:24:33","slug":"joint-appeal-to-end-azerbaijans-political-persecution-of-armenian-humanitarian-ruben-vardanyan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/?p=815","title":{"rendered":"Joint Appeal to End Azerbaijan\u2019s Political Persecution of Armenian Humanitarian Ruben Vardanyan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>To the International Community:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As major Armenian diasporan organizations worldwide and NGOs\u202fworking in the Republic of Armenia, we the undersigned, are writing to urge you to take immediate action to end Azerbaijan\u2019s political persecution of Ruben\u202fVardanyan, a\u202fglobally-respected\u202fArmenian philanthropist and native of Armenia.\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now 18 months into captivity, under wretched conditions and charged with committing crimes against the Azerbaijani state by standing on the side of the Armenians of Nagorno- Karabagh during the 2020 war and its aftermath, Mr.\u202fVardanyan recently\u202fwent on a hunger strike. His intention\u202fis to underscore the urgent need for international intervention to prevent further violations of his basic human right\u202fto a fair trial that conforms with international laws of justice. \u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During a brief phone call with his family from a Baku prison on February 19, 2025, Mr.\u202fVardanyan\u202fcited\u202fAzerbaijan\u2019s blatant\u202fviolations\u202fof due process and international standards. He highlighted serious procedural violations that have tainted the proceedings and reaffirmed that his persecution is part of a broader effort to criminalize Armenians who have supported or shown solidarity\u202fwith the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabagh (also referred to as Artsakh in the Armenian language.)\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mr. Vardanyan outlined his ill-treatment in detention, how he has been coerced to sign falsified case materials, and denied the right to prepare a defense, just to name a few of Azerbaijan&#8217;s tactics to undermine his human rights and render his conviction a foregone conclusion.\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Regrettably, Mr. Vardanyan&#8217;s\u202fprevious appeal to international organizations and the media regarding the gross human rights violations against Armenian detainees went unanswered, leading to even graver consequences. His current hunger strike is not only a protest but a dire warning\u2014continued silence and inaction will only worsen the plight of Armenian prisoners of war and detained civilians illegally held\u202fby\u202fAzerbaijan.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We strongly urge you to take a\u202fresolute stance against the Aliyev regime\u202fto defend justice, human dignity, and the rule of law,\u202fbefore it\u2019s too late. We ask you to demand:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Justice for all Armenian political prisoners and prisoners of war illegally held in Baku\u00a0 \u202f\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>An immediate and thorough investigation into the\u202fmistreatment\u202fof Ruben Vardanyan and the ongoing violations of his\u202fhuman\u202frights to a fair trial\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Transparency and accountability in judicial proceedings by ensuring access for independent international observers and legal representatives\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Urgent action to compel Azerbaijan to uphold its international obligations and end the politically-motivated persecution of Armenian citizens\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We look forward to your decisive action in addressing\u202fthis urgent matter and would greatly appreciate your reporting your efforts and findings to us in a timely manner.\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Respectfully yours,&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Armenian General Benevolent Union<\/strong><br><strong>Afeyan Foundation<\/strong><br><strong>\u201cARBANE\u201d Pan-Armenian Projects Foundation<\/strong><br><strong>Armenian Relief Society<\/strong><br><strong>Aurora Humanitarian Initiative<\/strong><br><strong>Aznavour Foundation<\/strong><br><strong>Fund for Armenian Relief<\/strong><br><strong>H. Hovnanian Family Foundation<\/strong><br><strong>Orran<\/strong><br><strong>Teach For Armenia<\/strong><br><strong>Tekeyan Cultural Association of the United States and Canada<\/strong><br><strong>The Armenian Legal Defense Front<\/strong><br><strong>Tufenkian Foundation<\/strong><br><strong>We Are Our Mountains<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>February 16, 2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To the International Community:&nbsp;&nbsp; As major Armenian diasporan organizations worldwide and NGOs\u202fworking in the Republic of Armenia, we the undersigned, are writing to urge you to take immediate action to end Azerbaijan\u2019s political persecution of Ruben\u202fVardanyan, a\u202fglobally-respected\u202fArmenian philanthropist and native of Armenia.\u202f&nbsp; Now 18 months into captivity, under wretched conditions and charged with committing crimes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":820,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,12,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advocacy","category-english","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=815"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":821,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815\/revisions\/821"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freearmenianhostages.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}