Vicken Euljekjian’s condition has significantly worsened in the Baku detention facility, according to his wife, Linda Euljekjian, and his lawyer, Lusiana Minassian. The lawyer said that after a 45‑day break, Euljekjian was able to call his family briefly on November 16.
During the call, Vicken said that his physical condition had deteriorated sharply: he cannot walk and requires a wheelchair, which has not been provided, Sputnik Armenia reported.
According to the lawyer, although he was taken to a doctor, he is not receiving any medication. Despite his state, no medical treatment or legal‑protection measures have been granted, leaving him without medical care in violation of basic humanitarian standards.
Euljekjian also stated that he is not receiving sufficient food, being given only bread and tea.
“This is inhuman and degrading treatment. Such treatment is especially alarming given President Ilham Aliyev’s recent public statements,” the lawyer said. She added that the family interprets those statements as a mockery of the suffering of Armenian prisoners.
Minassian noted that Euljekjian’s detention conditions violate international humanitarian law, the right to humane treatment of detainees, and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Mandela Rules).
“Denying medical care, food, medication, and a wheelchair creates a serious threat to Vicken’s health and life,” she said.
She added that the situation poses a grave risk to Euljekjian’s life and urged international organisations to intervene immediately to ensure independent medical examination, humanitarian access, provision of a wheelchair, adequate nutrition, and necessary medicines.
Euljekjian, 46, is a citizen of Armenia and Lebanon. He was abducted by Azerbaijani armed forces on November 10, 2020, one day after the Armenia–Azerbaijan ceasefire that ended the 44‑day war in Nagorno‑Karabakh. In June 2021, the Baku Military Court sentenced him to 20 years on charges of “mercenarism”, “terrorism”, and “illegal border crossing”. In December 2023, his name appeared on a preliminary list of Armenian prisoners expected to be released, but he was not returned.
