Demonstrators submit petition to UN office in Yerevan asking intervention to release Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan

Demonstrators in Yerevan gathered outside the UN Armenia office on Friday to demand intervention to achieve the release of all Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan.

Participants of the demonstration included former Nagorno-Karabakh officials and representatives of several organizations. They submitted a petition to the UN office calling for practical steps to release the prisoners, to preserve the Armenian heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh, to ensure the right to return of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh and implement mechanisms to determine the fate of the missing persons.

Narine Aghabalyan, the NK program leader of Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, said it is important to once again raise their voice about the crime against justice and draw the world’s attention on the Azerbaijani government’s criminal conduct since the trial of the Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan will start on January 17. The judicial process in Azerbaijan against the Armenians is widely seen as a show trial.

“Ruben Vardanyan’s latest statement highlights the alarming situation and the embarrassing condition of the justice system in Azerbaijan. Vardanyan’s statement was a call on all of us, both the Armenian society and the international community, to take appropriate steps,” she said.

Gegham Stepanyan, the former Human Rights Defender of Nagorno-Karabakh, said that all their efforts are aimed at stopping as soon as possible the torture of the unlawfully detained Armenians in Baku and achieving their release.

In 2023, armed forces of the Government of Azerbaijan invaded Nagorno-Karabakh, leading to the forced displacement of nearly 120,000 Armenians. During the flight of the refugees, Vardanyan and seven other former officials were arrested and have been facing politically motivated, fabricated charges. Other detainees include the former presidents of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan has also been unlawfully holding other POWs.

Ruben Vardanyan, the former State Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, has vehemently denied all charges against him which include “financing terrorism” and “illegally entering” Karabakh. Vardanyan, as well as many experts, have described the charges as falsifications. The former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo recently once again slammed the charges as bogus, emphasizing that Baku is using the show trials to cover up its crimes in Nagorno-Karabakh.

In a statement issued on January 16, Ruben Vardanyan reiterated his complete innocence and the innocence of the other Armenians also being held as political prisoners and demanded an immediate end to the politically motivated case. He warned that all protocols bearing his signature are falsifications because he hasn’t given any testimony. Vardanyan said his lawyer and interpreter were coerced into signing the documents.