During a phone call relayed through his family, Ruben Vardanyan sent two audio messages from a Baku prison: he requested that one be published today and the other on Sunday. He also stated that his next statement will only be made at the final court session — and only if representatives of the international community are present.
In the audio message released today, Vardanyan emphasizes that his hunger strike was not merely a protest but an effort to draw attention to the injustice of the trial and the broader situation faced by Armenians:
I had several goals when I did this, when I declared my hunger strike: to show that there is no trial, but a farce; to show that it is not me who is being judged, but all Armenians and the state itself; and to show the price that had to be paid by all those who, in their hearts, would have been happy to stay and live here (in Artsakh), and not leave.
Press Office of Ruben Vardanyan
