The Right Honourable Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP
The Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury
10 Downing Street
London SW1A 2AA
10 March 2025
Dear Prime Minister,
Please accept my gratitude as Primate of the Armenian Church in the United Kingdom for your unwavering efforts to foster lasting peace in Europe during these uncertain times. Our prayers are with you and with all those who are working so tirelessly to bring an end to war.
I am writing to you today together with fellow religious leaders, however, specifically to express my deep concern over the ongoing Human Rights violations against the Armenian people, particularly the unlawful detention of twenty-three Armenians by the Aliyev regime in Azerbaijan.
Read also
Following the forced displacement of 120,000 Armenians from Artsakh (NagornoKarabakh) in 2023, Azerbaijan has arbitrarily arrested, imprisoned, and indicted on the basis of fabricated charges, twenty-three Artsakh government officials and prisoners of war, as well as civilians. These individuals are now being tried in violation of all basic principles of fair trial. They have been denied access to legal representation of their choice, and lawyers, foreign observers and journalists have been prohibited from entering the court room or even the country. The detainees have all been, and continue to be, subjected to the agonies of ill-treatment.
Their continued detention and on-going trials constitute flagrant and gross violation of International Human Rights and of International Humanitarian Law. Their imprisonment in Baku under inhumane and degrading conditions has been strongly condemned by multiple international human rights organisations. Referring to all persons arbitrarily detained in Azerbaijan, including Armenians, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mr Volker Turk declared: “They must be released immediately, and their rights to a fair trial must be fully respected.” (March 4th 2025).
Azerbaijan’s continued crackdown on transparency and humanitarian relief has recently seen both the suspension of BBC operations in the country, silencing independent journalism, and the expulsion of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the only organization providing humanitarian aid and the only lifeline to detainees. The detainees are thus completely isolated and grave concerns about their treatment and well-being mount. Signs of their deteriorating health are increasingly evident. Perhaps
the most high-profile detainee, former Artsakh State Minister Mr Ruben Vardanyan has for the past two weeks been on a hunger strike in protest.
The United Kingdom has long been a champion of Human Rights and of the Rule of Law and it is for this reason that I write to you, Prime Minister, and ask you to take decisive action and call for the immediate release of the detainees. I, and the Armenian community of the United Kingdom and Ireland which I represent, ask you to urge Azerbaijan to comply with its international obligations. More globally, we encourage your government, with other European partners to address this urgent matter through intergovernmental platforms.
A firm stance from the United Kingdom and a strong message that Human Rights violations will not be tolerated, will help ensure that justice prevails.
