ArmInfo. Despite torture and all the personal threats in Baku, the issue of the rights of the people of Artsakh continues to be important to my father. This was stated by David Vardanyan, the son of the former state minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan, in an interview with the Armenian radio station AYPFM in France
"Despite the torture and all the personal threats against him in Baku, he told us that the issue of the rights of the people of Artsakh is extremely important to him. He remains steadfast. He says that despite all the dangers, he wants to tell the truth. On the first day of the trial, January 17, he also asked the Azerbaijani court to observe a minute of silence in memory of all the victims of the conflict, regardless of their nationality. Despite the situation, despite all the injustices that he and other Armenians face, my father wants to say that the only choice we have is to live in peace, without war, to negotiate and understand each other," the philanthropist's son noted.
When asked what to expect from the trial of Ruben Vardanyan, the philanthropist's son mentioned that many organizations, such as Freedom House, Doctors Without Borders, have called Azerbaijan as one of the most unfree countries in the world. Therefore there is little hope for these "trials." "For example, last week my father received documents in Azerbaijani and he had only three weeks to review the file, which consists of more than 20,000 pages, with the help of a translator provided by the Azerbaijani government. I do not know what is happening with the others, but it is known that my father's case is being considered separately. However, I believe that the situation is the same for others. Azerbaijan is not a free country even for its own citizens, and it cannot be so for Armenians," David noted.
When asked what can be expected, in particular, from France or Europe, to achieve the release of these prisoners of war, Vardanyan's son noted that this "trial" is not an ordinary, open trial, since there is simply no justice system in Azerbaijan. According to him, this is why the only protection for Armenian prisoners of war can be the reaction of the international community and the actions of the governments of democratic countries. "For example, my father told me that his lawyer does not have the opportunity to properly prepare the defense. That is why Azerbaijan must be required to declare this trial open, allowing French, English and American journalists to attend these sessions and hear what is really happening there. Because, despite the declared "open trial", only state-owned Azerbaijani media are present," David believes.
At the same time, according to him, the second important step is to urge the French government to talk more about this injustice of Azerbaijan and put pressure the European Union to stop all deals with Azerbaijan. "This is not only a question between Armenia and Azerbaijan, it is also a question of Azerbaijan's attitude towards its own citizens. Currently, there are over 300 political prisoners in Azerbaijan, and if Azerbaijan is allowed to treat Armenian prisoners of war in this way, I am sure that this country will do even more against Armenia, against its own citizens, and against French and European tourists," he noted.
When asked whether Vardanyan's family expects anything from the new US President Donald Trump, David noted that the Armenian people had high hopes for the former US President regarding the Armenian Genocide. "He promised a lot to the Armenians, but did not do much. These were only words that were not followed by actions. Now we have hopes associated with the administration of the new US President. Donald Trump wrote that he would protect the rights of Christians in Nagorno-Karabakh, and we saw that some friends of Armenia and the Armenian people have become part of the new administration. I know that human rights issues, especially the issue of Christian rights, are very important to them. That is why we are filled with hope that this administration and President Trump will be able to help the Armenian prisoners of war with these issues," the philanthropist's son noted.
In conclusion, he emphasized that his family will continue working to ensure that the Azerbaijani government respects the rights of Armenians, recognizing that such steps cannot be effective without international political support.