Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan allege rights’ violations

Ruben Vardanyan, a former senior official in Nagorno-Karabakh's de facto administration who is serving a 20-year prison sentence in Azerbaijan, says that he and 18 other Armenian prisoners are being denied regular family contact, adequate exercise, medical tests, and other rights provided under Azerbaijani law.

In an audio appeal recorded on September 16 and published two days later, Vardanyan addressed Azerbaijan's human rights commissioner, Sabina Aliyeva. He said some prisoners at Umbaki prison do not receive weekly phone calls and none can make video calls. "When my cellmate was arrested, his child was 10 months old," Vardanyan said. "Now the child is more than 3 years old and has not seen his father."

Vardanyan said he has been unable to get medical tests even at his own expense, access notary services, or receive written responses to complaints. He said prisoners get only 20 to 40 minutes of outdoor exercise once a week, rather than an hour a day.