Ruben Vardanyan`s son: States with significant power in the region  should increase pressure on Azerbaijan

ArmInfo.States with significant power in the region should increase pressure on Azerbaijan. David Vardanyan, the son of Ruben Vardanyan, has expressed a similar opinion in an interview with the French publication Le Point. The interview was titled "The world turned a blind eye to the ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh".

At the start of the interview, touching upon the ethnic cleansing  committed by Azerbaijan in Artsakh, David Vardanyan recalled that the  Azerbaijani side detained his father on September 27, 2023, along  with seven others, during a mass evacuation. "We learned the news  from social networks. It was a shock. We cannot visit him, but we  sometimes talk to him on the phone and receive messages through the  International Committee of the Red Cross. The last time I spoke to  him was last week," Vardanyan Jr. noted.  Touching on his father's  health, David noted that in early April, Ruben Vardanyan went on a  hunger strike.  The family only learned about it two weeks later  because he was in solitary confinement at that time and had no way of  communicating with the outside world, including his lawyer who was  present.

"Our international lawyers are not allowed to see him. My father was  placed in a special cell where he was not allowed to drink water for  48 hours and was forced to stand on his feet for hours. According to  international conventions, this is considered a form of torture. That  is why we brought this issue to the attention of the UN special  rapporteur. Under international pressure, the Azerbaijani authorities  finally agreed to allow him to call his family. My mother was able to  talk to him on the phone and convince him to stop the hunger strike,"  Vardanyan's son noted. When asked about the expected data of Ruben  Vardanyan's trial, his son noted that this is one of the most  worrying issues for the family. He mentioned that the so- called  trial was initially scheduled for January 2024, but has already been  postponed several times.

 "Now it is planned to be held in October, but we have no guarantees  that it will not be postponed again. It is usually prohibited to keep  a person in custody for several months without a clear charge.  Unfortunately, we know the course of action of the country where my  father is located... Armenians and Azerbaijanis must learn to  coexist, because we are neighbors and will remain neighbors. However,  this cannot be achieved through the use of force and threats,"  Vardanyan Jr. continued. When asked what message he would like to  send to foreign leaders visiting Baku to attend the UN Climate  Summit, David retorted: "How can an oil state, where 90% of export  revenues come from oil, and whose policy is based on extracting as  much gas and oil as possible, be trusted to host COP 29 when  completely violates human rights? In my opinion, we cannot separate  climate justice and human rights, because they are interconnected."  He also expressed hope that other politicians will follow the example  of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who publicly stated that she would not  attend COP29 because of Azerbaijan's behavior.

"From today until November, we have the opportunity to put pressure  on Baku," David Vardanyan added.  Noting whether the international  community is too lenient towards Azerbaijan, Vardanyan Jr. pointed  out that Azerbaijan has one of the lowest freedom indexes in the  world. "According to Freedom House, its freedom index is 7 out of 100  possible. Among the major powers, France was the only one that called  the Baku regime to account. Countries like the United States of  America, Great Britain and Germany have influence in the region. They  will need to do much more than they have done before," Vardanyan Jr.   concluded.