Armenian Christian prisoners’ release gains urgency ahead of JD Vance’s visit

The Zeale periodical of a Catholic organization of America has commented on US Vice President JD Vance’s upcoming visit to Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as on the issue of releasing Armenian Christian prisoners held in Baku.

The publication noted that Vance’s visit comes at a time when a group of spiritual leaders from the Catholic and Armenian Apostolic Churches have urged Pope Leo XIV to take action for the release of Armenian Christian detainees in Azerbaijan.

The author cites an excerpt from the letter of these spiritual leaders, which states: “Communication with their families, already limited, has worsened since Azerbaijan expelled the Red Cross from the country last year. Their Christian faith — and their dignity as human persons — are being crushed.”

The article further notes: “The upcoming diplomatic engagement has renewed focus on a December letter in which Catholic and Armenian Apostolic leaders urged Pope Leo to intervene on behalf of at least 23 prisoners detained after Azerbaijan’s 2023 military seizure of Nagorno-Karabakh. (…) the signatories said the men, prisoners of war, remain imprisoned in Azerbaijan under deteriorating conditions. The leaders warned that the prisoners’ continued detention — alongside the reported destruction of Christian heritage sites — poses a serious humanitarian threat.”

The publication recalls that the letter, sent to Pope Leo ahead of Christmas, was signed by more than a dozen high-ranking spiritual leaders. The list of signatories is led by Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York and Archbishop Anoushavan Tanielian of the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America.