RUBEN VARDANYAN WAS NOT PERMITTED TO ADDRESS AZERBAIJAN'S OMBUDSPERSON – FAMILY STATEMENT
16-03-2026 14:45:42 | Armenia | Press release
On 13 March, during a phone call with his family, Ruben Vardanyan attempted to deliver a public address to Azerbaijan's Ombudsperson, Sabina Aliyeva. The call was forcibly terminated.
This address was an act of last resort: over the preceding ten days, Ruben had repeatedly and unsuccessfully attempted to reach her through his lawyer, written requests, and phone calls.
The trials took place a month ago. To date, neither Ruben nor the other Armenian prisoners have received the official texts of their verdicts — neither in Russian, nor in Armenian, nor in Azerbaijani. They do not know under which charges they were convicted, or when and where they will be transferred.
We are deeply concerned by the current situation. The absence of reliable information about his condition, combined with the dismantling of independent human rights mechanisms in Azerbaijan — including the departure of the International Committee of the Red Cross — leaves all prisoners without any institutional protection.
We also fear that even brief phone calls — the only remaining means of contact — may be cut off entirely.
We are publishing the audio recording of Ruben's address to Azerbaijan's Ombudsperson Sabina Aliyeva — an address he was not permitted to complete.
We hope that this appeal will reach its intended recipient.
URGENT ADDRESS BY RUBEN VARDANYAN TO AZERBAIJAN'S OMBUDSMAN SABINA ALIYEVA
(Message conveyed through his family during a phone call)
March 13, 2026
«I would like…
I am compelled to address you, Ms. Aliyeva, Ombudsperson of the Republic of Azerbaijan, because although you kindly gave me your phone number during our first meeting in October 2023, in front of cameras, over the past ten days – despite all my efforts, through my lawyer, through written requests, and attempts to call – I have been unable to reach you. Therefore, I am compelled to address you publicly. Unfortunately, I have no other way to convey to you what is happening here to me and to my fellow detainees.
I ask you for a meeting. You are the only head of a public institution whom I can turn to in the current situation, because all other bodies in Azerbaijan carry out either state control or…
[At this moment Ruben Vardanyan is interrupted and forbidden to pass a message through his family addressed to the Ombudsperson of Azerbaijan]
And I am not even allowed to do that. I want to say that, unfortunately, I am not being given the opportunity to address you, so that you – the only one who could in this situation… I have not been able to receive my verdict for a month: neither in Russian, nor in Armenian, nor in Azerbaijani – I do not know what I have been convicted of or under which charges.
I ask you for a meeting in order to have the opportunity to discuss all of this. Because, unfortunately, the Red Cross has left. There is no other institution here that could be in contact with us.
The Armenian government does not have any other representation here and is preoccupied with procurement…»
[The call was forcibly terminated by the Azerbaijani side, and Ruben Vardanyan was unable to fully deliver his appeal to the Ombudsperson]
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