No matter how much longer we spend in Umbak, please follow your own laws: Ruben Vardanyan’s message to Azerbaijan’s Human Rights Commissioner.
On September 16, 2026, Ruben Vardanyan sent a public message to Sabina Aliyeva, the Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, who had previously expressed a readiness to assist in protecting the rights of Armenian convicts.
Ruben Vardanyan, who is held at the Gobustan Prison Complex alongside eighteen other citizens of Armenia, lists a number of violations in his message—violations that, first and foremost, contravene Azerbaijan’s own legislation.
He refers to the Code on the Execution of Punishments and the booklet on the rights of convicts that the Office of the Human Rights Commissioner of Azerbaijan provided to the prisoners in April of this year. He emphasizes that these rights must be upheld regardless of the charges, nationality, religious affiliation, or citizenship. The issues he raised include the lack of weekly phone calls and the unavailability of video calls for some prisoners—leaving some unable to see their children for nearly three years—as well as the inability to undergo medical examinations even at their own expense, the impossibility of issuing powers of attorney to relatives due to the denial of notarial services, the restriction of physical exercise to just one 20–40 minute session per week instead of the prescribed one hour per day, and the absence of written responses to applications and complaints.
Ruben Vardanyan specifically highlights the fact that, following the suspension of the International Committee of the Red Cross's operations in Azerbaijan, prisoners have been deprived of a vital channel for communicating with their families; the majority of them do not receive care packages. He also notes that many lack the means to purchase food from the prison store or make phone calls.
He also recalls the initiative of his wife, Veronika Zonabend, who is prepared to travel to Baku to meet with the Human Rights Ombudsman and the convicted Armenian citizens, and to deliver approximately one thousand letters, parcels, and essential items to them. Her requests have gone unanswered, and no alternative solution has been proposed.
Ruben Vardanyan has urged the Human Rights Ombudsman to meet with the prisoners and to abide by their own laws: "It does not matter how much longer we spend in Umbaki. Please, follow your own laws," the message states.
