Rights of Armenians illegally deprived of liberty in Azerbaijan in focus of ombudsperson's attention, advisor says

Issues related to the rights of all Armenians illegally deprived of their liberty in Azerbaijan, including Ruben Vardanyan, are constantly in the focus of the attention of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia. Lilit Hovhannisyan, Advisor to the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, stated this in response to a request from Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Following the interrupted message addressed by Ruben Vardanyan—an Armenian citizen, philanthropist, and former State Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh who is being unlawfully detained in the Azerbaijani capital city of Baku—to Azerbaijan’s Ombudsperson Sabina Aliyeva, Armenian News-News.am sent inquiries to various institutions and agencies, including the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, Anahit Manasyan.

"It is also worrying that it has been more than a month since the [Azerbaijani court] ‘verdicts’ were published, but they [i.e. the Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan] have not yet received the texts of the verdicts.

This may also deprive them of the opportunity to appeal them. What steps is the Office of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia taking in such a situation? Are you preparing to establish contact with your Azerbaijani counterpart or raise the issue on the international platform of ombudsmen?” our query had stated, to which the Armenian ombudsperson’s advisor, Lilit Hovhannisyan, responded.

“We inform [you] that issues related to the rights of all Armenians illegally deprived of their liberty in Azerbaijan, including Ruben Vardanyan, are constantly in the focus of the Defender’s attention, taking into account the importance of upholding universal principles and values of human rights, the need to guarantee the rights of individuals and their family members, and the role of national human rights institutions in humanitarian issues.

Given the sensitivity of the issue and the importance of the Defender’s staff acting on the ‘principle of doing no harm,’ the relevant work is confidential and is not subject to publication. In the event of the availability of information subject to publication, we will inform further,” said the Armenian ombudsperson’s advisor.