Ruben Vardanyan`s son: States with significant power in the region  should increase pressure on Azerbaijan

ArmInfo.States with significant power in the region should increase pressure on Azerbaijan. David Vardanyan, the son of Ruben Vardanyan, has expressed a similar opinion in an interview with the French publication Le Point. The interview was titled "The world turned a blind eye to the ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh".

At the start of the interview, touching upon the ethnic cleansing committed by Azerbaijan in Artsakh, David Vardanyan recalled that the Azerbaijani side detained his father on September 27, 2023, along with seven others, during a mass evacuation. "We learned the news from social networks. It was a shock. We cannot visit him, but we sometimes talk to him on the phone and receive messages through the International Committee of the Red Cross. The last time I spoke to him was last week," Vardanyan Jr. noted.  Touching on his father's health, David noted that in early April, Ruben Vardanyan went on a hunger strike.  The family only learned about it two weeks later because he was in solitary confinement at that time and had no way of communicating with the outside world, including his lawyer who was present.

"Our international lawyers are not allowed to see him. My father was placed in a special cell where he was not allowed to drink water for 48 hours and was forced to stand on his feet for hours. According to international conventions, this is considered a form of torture. That is why we brought this issue to the attention of the UN special rapporteur. Under international pressure, the Azerbaijani authorities finally agreed to allow him to call his family. My mother was able to talk to him on the phone and convince him to stop the hunger strike," Vardanyan's son noted. When asked about the expected data of Ruben Vardanyan's trial, his son noted that this is one of the most worrying issues for the family. He mentioned that the so- called trial was initially scheduled for January 2024, but has already been postponed several times.

 "Now it is planned to be held in October, but we have no guarantees that it will not be postponed again. It is usually prohibited to keep a person in custody for several months without a clear charge. Unfortunately, we know the course of action of the country where my father is located... Armenians and Azerbaijanis must learn to coexist, because we are neighbors and will remain neighbors. However, this cannot be achieved through the use of force and threats," Vardanyan Jr. continued. When asked what message he would like to send to foreign leaders visiting Baku to attend the UN Climate Summit, David retorted: "How can an oil state, where 90% of export revenues come from oil, and whose policy is based on extracting as much gas and oil as possible, be trusted to host COP 29 when completely violates human rights? In my opinion, we cannot separate climate justice and human rights, because they are interconnected." He also expressed hope that other politicians will follow the example of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who publicly stated that she would not attend COP29 because of Azerbaijan's behavior.

"From today until November, we have the opportunity to put pressure on Baku," David Vardanyan added.  Noting whether the international community is too lenient towards Azerbaijan, Vardanyan Jr. pointed out that Azerbaijan has one of the lowest freedom indexes in the world. "According to Freedom House, its freedom index is 7 out of 100 possible. Among the major powers, France was the only one that called the Baku regime to account. Countries like the United States of America, Great Britain and Germany have influence in the region. They will need to do much more than they have done before," Vardanyan Jr.  concluded.