Jared Genser, the international lawyer representing Armenian political prisoner Ruben Vardanyan, has once again criticized, and stepped up pressure on the Armenian government and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for failing to take basic diplomatic steps to secure the release of Vardanyan and other Armenian Christian politcial prisoenrs unjustly detained in Baku, Azerbaijan, reports Zartonk Media.
On March 4, Genser welcomed a recent statement from Armenia’s Foreign Ministry, which condemned Azerbaijan’s unlawful detention and show trials of Vardanyan and other Armenian POWs. However, the lawyer stressed that stronger action is needed, listing concrete steps the Armenian government must take immediately.
Pashinyan, on March 5, pushed back on Genser’s criticism, stating that Armenia will only make “proportionate” and “reasonable” efforts to secure the release of Armenian detainees. He argued in parliament that a more forceful approach could harm the prisoners rather than help them.
Genser rejected this argument, directly challenging Pashinyan’s definition of “reasonable” and “proportionate” efforts. He pointed to U.S. efforts under President Trump to free American hostages in Iran, Belarus, and Venezuela, noting that the U.S. government took far-reaching diplomatic actions, including:
- Appointing a Special Envoy on Hostage Affairs
- Public statements from the U.S. President and Secretary of State
- Requests for diplomatic intervention at the United Nations
- Engagement with foreign governments and global religious leaders
Genser questioned why Armenia has not pursued similar diplomatic efforts, asking whether Pashinyan believes such measures are unreasonable or disproportionate—despite their effectiveness in securing hostage releases in other countries.
Genser’s post from March 5 runs as follows:
”I couldn’t agree more with Armenia Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan that he should make “proportionate” & “reasonable” efforts to free my client Ruben Vardanyan & the other Armenian Christian political prisoners & POWs detained by Azerbaijan. That is precisely why all the items on this list come exclusively from examples of the kinds and of things other governments have done over my 25 years of experience working to recover foreign hostages. Surely Armenian hostages deserve at least as much help as what other governments provide, no?
For example, when I represented two American hostages in Iran Siamak Namazi & his Dad, the U.S. had a Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (SPEHA) at the U.S. State Department working on the case, the White House & State Department met regularly with the family of my clients, including with the Secretary of State, the U.S. had a U.S. Interests Section at the Swiss Embassy in Iran advocating for improved prison conditions and trying to monitor the trials, the President and the Secretary of State, spoke out publicly, U.S. diplomats advocated at the United Nations & with its allies asking for help, the U.S. asked for support from global religious leaders, and the U.S. imposed sanctions on Iranian officials responsible for the hostage taking.
This was all reasonable and proportionate for the United States. Yet to my surprise, as far as I can tell, Armenia has done none of these kinds of very basic things for the Armenian hostages in Azerbaijan.
So I ask Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan – do you agree doing these things are reasonable and proportionate or are you really saying that the kinds of efforts President Donald Trump has been taking to recover American hostages like Marc Fogel & Amcits from Belarus and Venezuela have been unreasonable and disproportionate?”
In his post, Genser reattached his statement from earlier in the week which runs as follows:
“Despite the lack of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, what can Armenia do to help secure the release of the Armenian Christian political prisoners and POWs in Azerbaijan?
Many people have asked how Armenia can help secure the release of these Armenian Christians detained in Azerbaijan given there are no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In fact, there is much more that can be done by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan:
- Public Statements and Public Diplomacy. Prime Minister Pashinyan can build off the statements of the Foreign Minister and Foreign Ministry and issue a public statement that says that the release of the political prisoners and POWs by Azerbaijan is a top priority, that their detentions are politically motivated, and they must be immediately and unconditionally released. And the Prime Minister could hold a press conference to discuss all these issues, publish an OP-ED in a major paper, and speak out as major developments warrant.
- Assist the Families. Both the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister could request to meet with the families of the political prisoners and POWs to show their solidarity with them. They could also ask the International Committee of the Red Cross and Organisation for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) to send trial monitors to the trials of Ruben Vardanyan and the others. They could also ask all their allies with embassies in Baku to send trial monitors as well. They could even ask Azerbaijan, despite the lack of diplomatic relations, to send Armenian Government observers to the trials.
- Engage with Azerbaijan. Prime Minister Pashinyan could send a private envoy to Baku to seek to open a humanitarian channel to negotiate the release of the political prisoners and POWs. In addition, he could work with a like-minded government, such as Switzerland, to set up an Armenian Interests Section at their Embassy in Baku to represent Armenia’s interests in Azerbaijan. Even if the issue of political prisoners and POWs will not be part of a peace agreement, the Prime Minister could make clear privately that their release must occur before or contemporaneous with the finalization of the deal.
- Request Support of United States, France, and the European Union. Prime Minister Pashinyan could ask President Trump and Secretary Rubio for their help, President Macron for his help, and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas for her help in freeing the political prisoners and POWs.
- Continue and Expand Legal Cases. The Government can continue to pursue its legal cases before the International Court of Justice and European Court of Human Rights. It could also request the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to open a preliminary examination into the forced displacement into Armenia of the 120,000 Armenian Christian residents of Nagorno-Karabakh.
- Engage Global Religious Community. The Government can appeal for help to address the clear persecution of the Armenian Christian community in line with President Trump’s call for action – http://bit.ly/3FdHYre – both for the 120,000 that were summarily dispelled from Nagorno Karabakh and current Armenian political prisoners being held in Baku as a result of their ethnicity and religion.
- Engage Multilaterally.
- Prime Minister Pashinyan could appoint a special envoy to free persecuted Christians worldwide with a focus on working to secure the release of the political prisoners and POWs. He could join with 80 countries in the world and sign on to the Canadian-led Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations.
- Prime Minister Pashinyan could ask UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk for help in secure the release of the prisoners and POWs on humanitarian grounds.”
