Leaders Turned Hostages: The Insider

The former Prime Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, Ruben Vardanyan, has been widely depicted in media over the past few days, showing the toll of his hunger strike. He is currently facing court in Baku alongside 15 other representatives of the political leadership of Nagorno-Karabakh. This information comes from The Insider.

It is noted that these repressive measures are destabilizing the situation in Armenia and fostering anti-Armenian sentiments in Azerbaijan.

Vardanyan declared a hunger strike on February 18, lasting for 23 days. He stated that his aim was to highlight the fact that “there is no trial, but a verdict is being rendered.” According to human rights defenders, the ongoing trial, lacking independent legal representation, does not meet international standards and is already characterized in Armenia as a “fake trial.”

Since the 2020 war, Azerbaijan has begun to view prisoners of war as tools of political bargaining. In a 2021 video, President Ilham Aliyev sarcastically notes in a conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that prisoners of war have become an effective leverage in negotiations, disregarding their protection under the laws of war.

Although the legal status of the political leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh differs from that of prisoners of war, the treatment they receive indicates the same objective—political pressure on Armenia.