The coordinating council of the Miasin socio-political movement has issued a statement renewing public attention on the fate of Armenians imprisoned in Azerbaijan, including former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan.
The statement harshly criticized Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, accusing him of using international pressure and corruption to legitimize unlawful detentions.
The group’s response follows a February 17, 2025, opinion from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which ruled that Ruben Vardanyan’s imprisonment was not arbitrary. Miasin claims the ruling is compromised by a conflict of interest.
According to the movement, current group chair Hanna Yudkivska has ties to Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR and to Ukrainian politicians aligned with Azerbaijani interests. Miasin alleges her conduct violates the UN’s standards of independence and impartiality.
The statement also accuses Armenian authorities—including Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the Foreign Ministry, the Justice Ministry, and Armenia’s Permanent Mission to the UN—of failing to take any meaningful action to protect Armenian citizens in this context.
Miasin further criticized the domestic political environment, asserting that some Armenian citizens are imprisoned for their political views or opposition activities.
“We believe that civil society and political actors must unite to secure the release of all unjustly detained and convicted compatriots—both in Azerbaijan and in Armenia,” the statement reads.
In this context, the Miasin movement calls on the public to join a protest on October 14 at 12:00 p.m. in front of the UN office in Yerevan.
“Popular unity, through determined struggle, can restore justice. United, we are invincible,” the statement concludes.
In September 2023, following a nine-month blockade of Artsakh and the ethnic cleansing of its Armenian population, Azerbaijan captured former Artsakh Presidents Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Arayik Harutyunyan, former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, Foreign Minister Davit Babayan, and other former leaders. The fabricated charges they face could lead to life sentences. Their show trial began in Baku on January 17.
