Artsakh People Protection Committee issues statement on Armenian prisoners detained in Baku

Calling the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic a “criminal organization” is a clear violation of international law, the principle of self-determination of peoples and the fundamental provisions of the UN, the Committee for the Protection of Fundamental Rights of the Artsakh People said in response to the actions of the Azerbaijani Prosecutor’s Office, which called Ruben Vardanyan’s humanitarian activities “financing of terrorism” and the very fact of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s existence a “criminal organization.”

“If this false ‘legal’ chain is not broken, the same methodology could soon be applied to any individual—whether a journalist, doctor, or teacher—whose work does not align with the political agenda of the current government in Baku. Calling the NKR a ‘criminal organization’ is a clear violation of the principle of self-determination and key UN provisions. Prosecuting Vardanyan retroactively grossly undermines the principles of ‘nullum crimen sine lege’ (‘no crime without law’) and fair trial. The accusation of ‘illegal border crossing’ disregards the tripartite statement of November 9, 2020, as well as the UN and ECHR guarantees of free movement through the Lachin corridor.
Attempts to associate the Aurora humanitarian initiative with ‘terrorism’ threaten the security of global humanitarian efforts.

We call for the following actions:

🔹The UN Security Council, EU, OSCE, USA, and Russia to make a public and unified demand for the immediate release of Ruben Vardanyan and other Armenian hostages;

🔹 Impose targeted economic and visa sanctions on Azerbaijani officials responsible for orchestrating this legal farce;

🔹The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and PACE should immediately arrive in Baku to document the ongoing human rights violations and report to the Security Council,” the committee said in a statement.