Today, on February 26, 2025, one week after launching a hunger strike to protest his sham trial, Armenian-Christian political prisoner Ruben Vardanyan’s health has sharply deteriorated, yet Azerbaijani authorities continue to force him to attend court proceedings, reports Zartonk Media.
On February 19, 2025, Former Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) State Minister Ruben Vardanyan courageously launched his hunger strike in protest of the political show trial being carried out against him and other Armenian-Christian political prisoners in Azerbaijan. Vardanyan, who has spent over 500 days in arbitrary detention, faces politically motivated charges and a trial rife with egregious violations of due process.
Despite his deteriorating health and repeated requests for a postponement, Vardanyan’s trial proceeded uninterrupted yesterday. His blood pressure reached a dangerously high 140/110 (“Stage 2″ hypertension), requiring urgent medical attention. He has lost 6 kilograms (13.2 pounds) so far, his pulse is abnormally high, and he appeared exhausted and on several occasions came close to passing out.
Despite these serious medical concerns, he was still brought before the judicial panel of the Baku Military Court in another proceeding that was secret and closed to the public. Given his condition, Defense Counsel filed an initial motion to postpone the hearing, and the judicial panel allowed a break for him to be examined by a state doctor. However, that doctor only reported her observations privately, raising serious concerns about the integrity of the medical assessment. The judicial panel rejected the first motion to postpone the proceedings and four more made at various intervals, asserting that it was safe for Ruben to participate as long as he remained seated during the hearing.
Under Rule 27 of the Nelson Mandela Rules, “[a]ll prisons shall ensure prompt access to medical attention in urgent cases.” To compel Ruben to participate in this proceeding while facing serious threats to his health and safety at a minimum constitutes cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment.
Jared Genser, Vardanyan’s international legal counsel, issued the following statement: “I urge international organizations with access to the Azerbaijan prisoners to request access to Ruben on an urgent basis. And I call on the Government of Azerbaijan to allow a doctor from our international team to visit him in prison, to immediately provide all necessary medical care, including regular monitoring of his condition, that he needs, and to postpone the trial through the remainder of his hunger strike.”
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