One year in captivity: chronicle of Ruben Vardanyan’s detention

Philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan has been in Baku pre-trial detention center for one year. Azerbaijan illegally detained the social entrepreneur on September 27, 2023 when he was trying to leave Artsakh for Armenia.

One year ago Azerbaijan forcibly evicted thousands of residents of this region to Armenia. After Vardanyan, seven former statesmen of Artsakh were arrested. In total, Baku is holding 23 Armenian captives in prisons.

Shortly after Vardanyan’s detention, a march in support of the philanthropist and other prisoners was held in Yerevan. But Azerbaijan did not listen to the appeals of the world community – in October, a court in Baku rejected the philanthropist’s appeal against the arrest decision.

Famous cultural and scientific figures from Russia addressed the Azerbaijani authorities with an appeal to release Ruben Vardanyan. In an open letter, they emphasized that he had done a lot for the development of education and charity in the country and beyond.

In late October, the executive director of the Lemkin Institute for the Prevention of Genocide Elisa von Joden-Forgin said that human rights activists are working on mechanisms for the return of prisoners from Baku.

In November, the prisoners were visited twice by staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The arrested were allowed to contact their families.

Toward the end of the year, it became known that Azerbaijan refused to include Vardanyan in the list of prisoners to be exchanged with Armenia. Moreover, none of the former leaders of Artsakh were included in the list.

Before the New Year, Veronika Zonabend gave a big interview in the media for the first time after her husband’s arrest. She emphasized that despite her husband’s imprisonment, all his educational and charitable projects continue to work.

At the end of January 2024, the court extended Ruben Vardanyan’s illegal detention for another four months. At that time, he had been in detention for about 120 days.

In March, the fate of the social entrepreneur and other Armenian captives was discussed at a large conference of the European Parliament in Brussels. Ambassador to Belgium Tigran Balayan noted at the time that the unresolved situation “poisons the atmosphere”.

On April 8, Ruben Vardanyan was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for developing peace initiatives and preventing a humanitarian disaster in Artsakh. The authors of the appeal reminded that he promoted the unity of peoples and fought for human rights.

On April 19, the family of the social entrepreneur learned two weeks late that the philanthropist had gone on hunger strike. Vardanyan took this desperate step after Azerbaijan ignored repeated requests to ensure a fair and transparent trial in accordance with international legal standards.

On April 26, the philanthropist was forced to end his hunger strike after persistent requests from his family, who were concerned about his health.

In early May, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia commented on the issue of actions being taken to release Vardanyan and other Armenians illegally detained by Azerbaijan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs once again reiterated its position in favor of the exchange and transfer of prisoners of war according to the “all for all” formula.

In mid-May, the court in Azerbaijan extended Ruben Vardanyan’s arrest for five months. Victoria Burkovskaya, the representative of the philanthropist’s defense in Russia, stressed at the time that he had been in custody for many months, although his culpability had not been proven by the court.

In June, Vardanyan’s lawyers sent an urgent appeal to the UN Special Rapporteur asking him to condemn the cruel treatment of their client. During his April hunger strike, the philanthropist was transferred to a punishment cell, deprived of sleep, denied drinking water for more than two days, forced to stand on his feet for long periods of time, cut off all communications with the outside world, and prevented from meeting with his lawyer or talking to his family by phone.

At the end of July, former International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo called the situation “the culmination of genocide”. He also called on Armenians around the world to launch an information campaign ahead of the upcoming COP29 summit in Baku in an attempt to secure the release of Ruben Vardanyan and the other captives.

On September 18, at the graduation ceremony of the Skolkovo School of Management, which Ruben Vardanyan had created, the daughter of the social entrepreneur read her father’s message to the students and teachers. In his letter, the philanthropist thanked them for their care: “Your support gives me strength and makes me happy even here, in a prison cell. I am sure that soon we will meet again and I will see your happy faces and eyes burning with joyful excitement. It will happen!”