International community must take urgent steps to ensure release of  all Armenian prisoners in Baku - politician 

ArmInfo. The international community can and should take urgent steps to immediately release all Armenian prisoners of war held in Baku prisons. This was written on  her Facebook page by Mane Tandilyan, co-founder of the Country for  Life party.

She reported that the day before she had sent letters to ambassadors  accredited in Armenia, in which she drew attention to the statement  of philanthropist, former State Minister of Artsakh Ruben Vardanyan,  in which he announced through his family that he had begun a hunger  strike in protest against the judicial farce taking place in the Baku  Military Court.

"The international community can and should take urgent steps to  immediately release all Armenian prisoners of war held in Baku  prisons. In this case, silence is as reprehensible as the crime  itself," the politician wrote.

On the eve, Vardanyan's statement was circulated, in which he  announced that he had decided to begin a hunger strike against the  judicial farce. "This is my response to the gross violations of  international and Azerbaijani procedural law. What is happening in  the courtroom cannot be called a trial - it is a political show in  which my rights to a fair trial are demonstratively ignored. Over the  past month, my lawyer and I have tried to convey to the court that it  is critically important for me that the "trial" be objective.  However, it was clear from the very beginning that the case was  directed against me only because I used my right to freedom of speech  and political participation to protect the Armenian - Christian  population of Artsakh," the statement said, drawing the attention of  world leaders, international organizations, human rights activists  and representatives of the press to the illegal trial in Baku.

Since January 17, court hearings have been held in Azerbaijan on the  case of former military and political leaders of Artsakh. Among the  accused are former presidents of Nagorno-Karabakh Arkady Ghukasyan,  Bako Sahakyan, Arayik Harutyunyan, former commander of the Defense  Army Levon Mnatsakanyan, former deputy commander of the Defense Army  David Manukyan, former Minister of Foreign Affairs David Babayan and  Speaker of the National Assembly David Ishkhanyan. The case of former  state minister and philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan was separated into  separate proceedings. Despite his request to combine the materials of  his case with the others, the court ruled to consider 400 of the 422  volumes separately.