YEREVAN (PanARMENIAN.Net) — Vicken Euljekjian, who has been held in an Azerbaijani prison since 2020, began a hunger strike nearly a month ago. His family still has no information about his current health condition.
According to Pastinfo, his Argentina-based lawyer Luciana Minassian stated that it remains unclear whether Euljekjian has ended his strike.
“Phone calls are allowed monthly, and we’ve already had the September call. However, we’ve received no information from Baku about Vicken. We believe he will continue the hunger strike regardless of the consequences — he simply cannot endure the prison anymore,” said Minassian.
She added that the Armenian National Committee of Lebanon has appealed to Lebanon’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations to raise the issue of Euljekjian’s continued, unjust detention in Baku. In Buenos Aires, appeals were also sent to Argentina’s Vice President Victoria Villarruel and Human Rights Defender Claudia Rucci, urging them to speak out on behalf of Armenian prisoners, including Euljekjian.
“So far, we haven’t received any response from the Vice President or Rucci, but we may hear back from the Human Rights Observatory during the week. In the meantime, we continue pursuing legal action — there’s still much to do,” she said.
Euljekjian, 46, holds dual Armenian and Lebanese citizenships. He was abducted on November 10, 2020, just one day after the ceasefire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. He is one of six civilians still held by Azerbaijan.
