News - Lawyer: Ruben Vardanyan gave international resonance to Karabakh issue, earned Azerbaijan’s hatred

There is the distinguishing feature regarding Ruben Vardanyan that is not a military man, he was not in the early origins of the struggle for self-determination, but by holding a public position in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), he drew the attention of the international community to the Artsakh issue and situation, and gave an international resonance to the issue due to his person. Lawyer Siranush Sahakyan, Head of the "Center for International and Comparative Law" NGO, stated during a discussion at the American University of Armenia, and answering the question whether Ruben Vardanyan—renowned Russian Armenian philanthropist who formerly served as State Minister of Artsakh and is now in Azerbaijani captivity—can be considered a prisoner of war. "We have also seen that the leader of Azerbaijan had a pronounced negative attitude towards Ruben Vardanyan himself, let's not forget that the removal of Ruben Vardanyan from his post was set as a precondition for some actions. Ruben Vardanyan's activity, which was exclusively legal, was perceived by Azerbaijan as anti-Azerbaijani, and I believe that the person is being persecuted for the characteristics of his views and activities, which makes him a political prisoner," said Sahakyan. She noted that everyone's activities have specifics, but the commonality is that they are being punished for their lawful and permissible activities. And that activity was perceived by Azerbaijan as in the interest of Artsakh and anti-Azerbaijani.