Monday, October 2 2023 14:06

ArmInfo. Four children of the famous philanthropist, businessman, former Minister of State of  Artsakh Ruben Vardanyan sent an open letter to world leaders, human rights activists and the media representatives asking for help in releasing their father from illegal imprisonment in Azerbaijan.

The letter is presented below:  "As the four children of Ruben  Vardanyan we respectfully call upon the world leaders, advocates for  human rights, and the media to urgent help to free our father from  illegal detention in Azerbaijan. We are concerned about his health  and arbitrary treatment and have not been able to communicate with  him since his capture. We fear for his wellbeing and risk to his  life.  Over a year ago, our father made the difficult decision to  live with the people of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) exactly because he  wanted to protect their safety and their rights. He felt so strongly  about it that he left everything behind and lived in hardship  alongside them under blockade, siege and war.  After the last  aggression by the Azerbaijani government on September 19, resulting  in mass forced displacement and humanitarian disaster, he was  specially singled out and detained.  We do not want him to become yet  another victim of the political tension in the region, especially as  his mission has always been to reduce this exact same tension and  find a peaceful solution to a long-term conflict.  Our father is a  humanitarian and has never been involved in any military activities.  He co-founded the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, one of the biggest  humanitarian foundations, exactly to promote peace and human rights  around the world. For this same reason he invested heavily in  education and cultural preservation for the region over the past  decades, including the restoration of churches and a mosque in  Shushi. As an active and visible Armenian humanitarian leader he now  finds himself victim of a long-term political conflict and an opaque  justice system.  We are extremely worried for his health and we fear  for his safety.  We are encouraged by the support of many who have  reached out but cannot rest until our father and other Armenian  prisoners are released. With every day that goes by the risk that he  might never join our family again increases exponentially.  As his  children we call upon you to stand for the rights of our father, and  all wrongfully detained Armenians and to call for his urgent, safe,  and unconditional release. No people should be detained or prosecuted  for their beliefs, religion, or nationality. We pray for our father's  safe return to us and urgently ask for your help."