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Ruben Vardanyan, a former senior official in Nagorno-Karabakh de facto administration, attending a court hearing in Baku, Azerbaijan, February 17, 2026. Screen grab taken from a video.
© 2026 Reuters TV via Reuters 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. Human Rights Watch has not independently verified these allegations. On September 19, Aliyeva’s office rejected the allegations that the prisoners’ rights were being violated. The prisoners' contact with their families became more difficult after the Azerbaijani government closed down the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation there in September 2025. The ICRC says Geneva-based representatives visited detainees in December, met them privately, offered opportunities to communicate with their families, and assessed their treatment and detention conditions. However, visits are now less regular. Vardanyan was detained in September 2023 while leaving Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia, along with more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians who fled following Azerbaijan's military takeover of the region. The Baku Military Court sentenced him on February 17, 2026, on charges including terrorism, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The proceedings raised serious fair trial concerns. Civilians, including Vardanyan, were tried before a military court in hearings largely closed to independent scrutiny. Amnesty International reported that evidence was presented in a language the defendants didn’t understand and was not adequately translated. Azerbaijan should ensure that all prisoners can maintain regular family contact, receive letters and permitted parcels, obtain necessary medical care, and have adequate daily outdoor exercise. It should also allow the ICRC regular access to conflict-related detainees. "Regardless of how much longer we spend in Umbaki," Vardanyan said, "I ask you, at least comply with your own laws."
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