British MPs urge their government to put pressure on Azerbaijan to  release Armenian prisoners

ArmInfo. Jessica Morden, a member of the British Parliament, along with her fellow vice-chairs, have written to the UK Government Ministers on the issue of the  Armenian prisoners.  As reported by the "Free Armenian Hostages"  initiative (Free Armenian Hostages), the authors of the letter, among  other suggestions, ask for the British Embassy in Baku  to visit  them. 

"As Chair of the  APPG  for Armenia in the UK Parliament, along with  my fellow vice- chairs, today  we have written  to the UK Government  ministers on the issue of Armenian prisoners," she wrote on the X  network, attaching a copy of the letter.  The document, dated 1 April  2025, states in part: "We, the officers of the All-Party  Parliamentary Group on Armenia in the UK Parliament, firmly condemn  the continuing detention and trials of 23 Armenian prisoners in Baku  and call on UK Government Ministers to put pressure on Azerbaijan to  help achieve their release. There is much concern, including from  relatives and the diaspora in the UK, about their lack of access to  independent legal support, reports of physical and psychological  torture, and the barring of international organizations and media  observing the trials.  We also express alarm at the suspension of BBC  News Azerbaijani and Voice of America in Baku, reportedly on the  instruction of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry; the closure of the  International Committee of the Red Cross in the country by the  Azerbaijani authorities; and the reported threats of the eviction of  multiple UN agencies.  Family members in the UK tell us that the  prisoners are almost completely isolated with occasional contact with  their families. We are also particularly concerned about the health  of one of the prisoners, Ruben Vardanyan, who  until recently had  been on hunger strike for almost a month.  We ask Ministers to  explore opportunities for officials from the British Embassy in Baku  to visit the 23 Armenian prisoners. We also ask that Ministers make  strong representations to Azerbaijan to allow the International  Committee of the Red Cross to return to Azerbaijan and be allowed to  visit them to check on their well-being; to allow the reopening of  BBC News Azerbaijani  and enable the scrutiny of legal proceedings;  and to immediately release all the remaining Armenian prisoners as a  pathway to  lasting peace between the two nations."