Vardanyan and 15 other former ethic Armenian leaders are not part of the peace agreement - BBC World Service

ArmInfo. On April 9, Caucasus  correspondent Rayhan Demitri reported on the details of his visit to  Armenia on BBC World Service, presenting the progress of negotiations  on the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and highlighted  an important humanitarian issue - the issue of Armenian prisoners  held in Baku.  The journalist noted that last month both Armenia and  Azerbaijan stated that they have agreed  the text  of the treaty, but  the issue of prisoners is not part of the agreement.  Currently, a  trial is underway in Baku against 16 Armenians, one of whom is  billionaire philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan, who went on a hunger  strike in February, claiming a violation of his right to a fair  trial. The broadcast also features a comment from Ruben Vardanyan's  son, David Vardanyan, who met  with the journalist.

"We were able to find a lawyer in Azerbaijan, which was extremely  challenging for various reasons.  Firstly, it is well known that  there are manifestations of xenophobia towards Armenians, which are  well documented, as well as the sensitivity of the Nagorno-Karabakh  issue. So most lawyers refused to take the case, given the pressure  they would be under. We also have a legal team abroad. Our  international legal consultant Jared Genser from Washington has never  been able to speak directly with my father, his client.  He was not  allowed to visit Baku," said David Vardanyan.

BBC World Service also reported on the pressure on the BBC  Azerbaijani service in Azerbaijan, as well as the demand to halt the  activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross. "There is  a lot of pressure on journalists, with dozens of independent  journalists imprisoned. There is no freedom of speech, and last month  several international organizations, the UN office and the Red Cross,  which is the only organization with the right to enter the Armenian  prisoners - were all told to close their offices without any official  reason. Unofficially, it is assumed that the Azerbaijani authorities  consider these organizations as being pro-Armenian. So the situation  with human rights and democracy in Azerbaijan is very, very bad.  There is a perception that these trials are being used to distract  the population of Azerbaijan from other problems.  All these  Armenians, Ruben Vardanyan and the other 15 former leaders of  Nagorno-Karabakh, are  facing accusations  of war crimes. The most  serious charges have been leveled against them. This means that if  found guilty, they will spend the rest of their lives in prison,"  Reyhan Demitri noted.