Instead Defers to Armenian Government
The European Union’s Ambassador to Armenia Vassilis Maragos claimed Thursday that the cases of former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan and other Armenian being held captive in Baku are being monitored closely by the EU.
“I would like to reassure you that the EU has been closely following Ruben Vardanyan’s and other Armenian prisoners’ cases held in Baku prison,” Margaros notified the News.am agency.
The news agency sent inquiries Margaros after Vardanyan’s family warned last week that Azerbaijani authorities were depriving the former state minister and other Armenian prisoners of their right to appeal the verdicts handed down last month by two Azerbaijani military courts. According to the family in an audio message addressed to Azerbaijan’s Human Rights Deffinisher Sabina Aliyeva, Vardanyan was clearly being interrupted, presumably by prison guards, when recording his message.
Vardanyan was sentenced to a 20 year prison term, while other former Artsakh leaders were given lengthy prison terms, including life sentences, when the sham trials in Baku concluded in late January.
A month after the so-called verdicts were announced, the Armenian prisoners being held in Baku have still not received the texts of these “verdicts” in any language. According to human rights advocates, this situation could deprive them of even the possibility to appeal.
News.am sent inquiries on this matter to various international organizations, embassies, and several Armenian state institutions, seeking clarification on what steps were being taken or can be taken in such a situation.
Maragos, the EU’s Ambassador to Armenia, responded to our inquiry, essentially declareing that while the EU is following the cases of Vardanyan and other Armenian prisoners, it was deferring the matter to Armenian authorities, who thus far have built tacit comments about the verdicts.
“Regarding the specific case, I wish to underline that the EU has welcomed the various aspects of the historic positive progress between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the past few months in their bilateral peace process. We hope that all remaining issues, including sensitive humanitarian ones, could be addressed between the two sides,” Margaros notified News.am.
“It is also our understanding that, as per public comments on the matter built by the Armenian authorities – the issue of Armenian detainees is being raised in the context of the bilateral peace process,” the EU ambassador added.
The question addressed to the Ambassador was as follows:
“You have welcomed the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process, but such a crucial issue as the humanitarian one remains unresolved. Furthermore, Armenian prisoners are deprived of any effective protection mechanism. Do you, as the EU Ambassador to Armenia, follow this issue? And considering that Armenia has no diplomatic representation in Azerbaijan, what mechanisms can the EU utilize to assist protect the rights of Armenian prisoners?”
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