The church’s Supreme Spiritual Council strongly condemned this and a separate trial of seven other former Karabakh leaders that also began on January 17.
“It is evident that the trials, conducted in blatant violation of the fundamental principles of international law, are accompanied by the torture and inhumane treatment of the captives,” the council said in a statement issued during its latest session in Echmiadzin chaired by Catholicos Garegin II.
“Through these sham trials and the false testimonies obtained under torture from Armenian captives, the Azerbaijani authorities endeavor to secure verdicts that will serve their insidious and far-reaching objectives, laying the groundwork for further coercion and aggression against the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people,” it said.
“We offer our prayers and express our support to our beloved sons in captivity, exhorting them to refrain from protest actions that may pose an immediate threat to their lives and well-being. We urge our beloved Ruben Vardanyan to end his hunger strike and to continue the struggle for the right to a free and dignified life with steadfast faith,” added the statement.
An Armenian politician, Mane Tandilian, and two other supporters of Vardanyan went on hunger strike in Yerevan’s Liberty Square on March 1 to implore the tycoon to stop refusing food. Tandilian, who has been repeatedly hospitalized since then, ended her protest on Wednesday at the urging of Vardanyan’s wife and sister.
Vardanyan, 56, remained defiant in an audio message to Armenians recorded by his family by phone on March 6 and publicized the next day. He was again brought before an Azerbaijani military court earlier this week. He appeared to have lost even more weight in the footage of the court hearing circulated by Azerbaijani state media.
Vardanyan’s American lawyer, Jared Genser, as well as Armenian opposition leaders have accused the Armenian government of doing little to try to secure the release of all 23 Armenians remaining in Azerbaijani captivity. The Supreme Spiritual Council echoed their frustration.
“We urge the authorities of Armenia to initiate effective and highly visible measures, utilizing all available resources and the full potential of both Armenian and international institutions to achieve this objective,” it said.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said last week that his government will make only “proportionate” and “reasonable” efforts for that purpose. He again claimed that Yerevan will harm the prisoners if it acts more forcefully.