By Paul Polman
On September 19 last year, Ruben Vardanyan, a successful businessman, international philanthropist and proud Armenian was captured and illegally imprisoned by the Azerbaijani army.
Since then he, alongside 22 other Armenians, has been illegally held hostage by the Azerbaijani authorities; refused a proper trial and access to independent international legal advice, or any visitors; denied proper food or medical treatment; and, as we found out recently; dreadfully mistreated.
The 23 that are being held captive by the Government of Azerbaijan include seven other political leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh, alongside innocent civilians.
We should not be surprised; Azerbaijan is a country that has scant regard for human rights and international law. The country is scored a pitiful 7 out of 100 by Freedom House, which tracks democracy and freedom across countries.
Since 2003 when Ilham Aliyev took over the presidency from his father, corruption has become even more rampant, civil liberties have been destroyed and the political opposition squashed, leaving no room for independent expression or activism.