The Region in Brief

Artsakh

The family of Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian philanthropist and former Artsakh state minister, is urging the international community to demand his unconditional release along with 22 other Armenian political prisoners held in Azerbaijan. Vardanyan has been detained in Baku since September 27, 2023, and his pre-trial detention was recently extended by an Azerbaijani court. This call for Vardanyan’s release coincides with increasing international pressure on Azerbaijan, including a resolution passed by the European Parliament and calls for sanctions from the U.S. Congress and French Senate. The Vardanyan family says that Azerbaijan’s actions are inconsistent with its role as host of the upcoming Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which Azerbaijan has called the “COP of Peace.”