Protesters in Bonn call on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian  prisoners

ArmInfo.During the protest, a group of activists called on the Azerbaijani government to  immediately release Armenian political prisoners illegally detained in Baku, including businessman and philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan.

According to a report received by ArmInfo, during a protest rally  held today, they addressed the delegates of the UN Framework  Convention on Climate Change gathered in Bonn, calling on them to  oppose the holding of COP29 in Azerbaijan at the end of this year.  The Azerbaijani government has stated that COP29 will be dedicated to  peace, however this is impossible as Ruben Vardanyan and other  Armenian prisoners continue to be held in prison cells in Baku, and  to pretend otherwise would mean that Azerbaijan is continuing to  carry out genocide against the Armenian people.

The UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, having analyzed  the Azerbaijani attacks in September 2023, when Ruben Vardanyan was  also arrested, signaled to the world "the risk of genocide and  related atrocities." By participating and facilitating COP29, while  Armenian prisoners are under illegal arrest, the world allows  Azerbaijan to whitewash its crimes, which are not limited only to  those committed against Armenians, but are also carried out against  its own people. According to a Human Rights Watch report, "at least  25 independent journalists and civil society activists have been  arrested over the past year, all of whom remain in prison."

Approaching COP29: The FreeArmenianPrisoners movement and its  supporters and partners will continue to draw close attention to the  illegal actions of the Azerbaijani government and call on the media  to report on the suffering of all Armenian prisoners and the Armenian  people.

To coordinate these efforts, FreeArmenianPrisoners is collecting  signatures through an online petition calling for the release of  prisoners: https://freearmenianprisoners.com/

The joint actions scheduled for June 7, 2024 are coordinated by  activists of the working group of the 

FreeArmenian Prisoners movement, the German-Armenian Central Council  (ZAD), the Society for Vulnerable Peoples (GfbV), the International  Service for Human Rights (ISHR) and the organization ERecognition  against Genocide - in the name of international mutual understanding  (AGA).

All organizations join calls for the release of 23 Armenian  prisoners, as well as open and public condemnation of Azerbaijan's  conduct of the SOP29.

The exact number of Armenian prisoners of war and hostages held in  Azerbaijani prisons is still not known.  According to experts, there  are several hundred of them. Among those held in Azerbaijani  captivity are 8 former and current representatives of the  military-political leadership of Artsakh. The exact number of  Armenian prisoners of war and hostages held in Azerbaijani prisons is  still not known. According to experts, there are several hundred of  them. Among those held in Azerbaijani captivity are 8 former and  current representatives of the military-political leadership of  Artsakh.