Primate of the Armenian Church in Britain asked Prime Minister Starmer to help liberate Vardanyan and other ex-leaders of Artsakh.

The Head of the Armenian Diocese of Great Britain and Ireland, Bishop Hovakim Manukyan, along with other religious leaders, appealed to Prime Minister Kier Starmer to call on Baku to immediately release former leaders of Artsakh, who faced violation of all the basic principles of a fair trial.

“Azerbaijan’s continued crackdown on transparency and humanitarian relief has recently seen both the suspension of BBC operations in the country, silencing independent journalism, and the expulsion of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the only organization providing humanitarian aid and the only lifeline to detainees. The detainees are thus completely isolated and grave concerns about their treatment and well-being mount. Signs of their deteriorating health are increasingly evident. Perhaps the most high-profile detainee, former Artsakh State Minister Mr Ruben Vardanyan has for the past two weeks been on a hunger strike in protest”, the letter says.

Signatories called on the British government to unite with other European partners to address this urgent issue through intergovernmental platforms.