ArmInfo. After more than two weeks of incommunicado detention, Ruben Vardanyan, who has been held
hostage in Baku for more than six months, was allowed to call his
family for the first time after his loved ones drew international
attention to his hunger strike, reads a statement by the family of
political prisoner Ruben Vardanyan regarding his state of health.
"During the conversation, he mentioned that he had been in complete
isolation all this time, he was not even allowed to read. As far as
we know, he is only being measured for his blood pressure and nothing
else, and we are increasingly afraid that his health is
deteriorating. Before to end the conversation, he said: "I am now
more convinced than ever that values and principles are more
important than everything, even life itself."
We demand that the Azerbaijani authorities immediately allow
representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross to
visit him. This is the only way to obtain objective information about
the state of his health and provide him with all the necessary
medical care during the hunger strike.
In addition, we reiterate Ruben's demand for the immediate and
unconditional release of Armenian political prisoners by Azerbaijan.
We thank the world community, the media and everyone who writes and
talks about Ruben these days. It was thanks to these efforts that his
first telephone conversation with his family in two weeks took
place," Vardanyan's family said in a statement.
