Dear Supporter!
Please continue sharing this Petition until ALL Armenian hostages and POWs return home! You do not have to give money, only sign and share helping us to raise awareness about this dire and inhumane crisis continuing for two and half years already.
British-Armenian humanitarian group is an independent group of volunteers, with no political affiliation and not funded by any business, religious group, think tank or political party. We have been campaigning for the release of all Armenian hostages since November 2020 via peaceful protests, Open Letters and e-mails to British politicians, world leaders and human rights organisations, meetings with decision makers and Press Releases to highlight the ongoing humanitarian crisis of Armenian hostages mistreated or murdered in captivity, which are barbaric crimes against humanity, blatant violations of the III Geneva Convention on prisoners of war and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
To continue our campaign for the rights of Armenian captives, public support and donations are vital. By helping us, you are helping us to help the families of hostages. We have created an official fundraiser and highly encourage you to donate by visiting:
THANK YOU!
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PETITION UPDATE 10 MAY 2023
Last month we published the Open Letter about the Armenian hostage Vicken Euljekjian, held illegally in Azerbaijan since November 2020. We are devastated to announce that his mother, Beatrice Euljekjian, passed away on 21 April, after watching the routine video recording of Vicken from the Baku prison, as her son had aged and looked sick beyond recognition. Few hours later, she died of heart attack...
On 1 April 2023, messages were posted on social media that Lebanese-Armenian hostage Vicken Euljekjian had been tortured to death in his Baku prison. This revolting April 1st prank caused huge distress to Vicken’s family in Beirut, unable to check the veracity of this news. The last telephone conversation between Vicken and his family in Beirut had taken place on 27 January, during which he had complained of back pain and had mentioned that his requests for painkillers and medical assistance had been refused by Azerbaijani prison officers. The family was worried about Vicken’s health because they had not heard from him for over 2 months.
On the same day, Vicken’s family and British Armenian humanitarian group contacted International Red Cross in Yerevan and Beirut, as well as their central headquarters in Geneva asking to confirm or reject the horrible news. Within hours after the posts, British Armenian Group sent the Open Letter from Linda Euljekjian to world leaders, international humanitarian organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch as well as presidents and prime ministers of Western countries.
“Human rights in Azerbaijan are often and rightly criticised by international organisations”, stated Lebanese MP Paula Yakoubian. She expressed her concerns about Vicken’s imprisonment and the blatant violations of the basic human rights of Vicken Euljekjian illegally held in a Baku prison. But Azerbaijani authorities continue to ignore the calls from the Lebanese government to visit him in prison and have not made any official response to the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs about Vicken’s case.
In the early hours of Monday 3 April, Red Cross in Beirut informed the family that its official was about to visit Vicken in his Baku cell. Few hours later, a phone call was finally facilitated via Red Cross between Vicken and his family. Surprisingly, Vicken was allowed to speak with the family for over 12 minutes, this was unprecedented, as calls from Baku prison last usually no more than 3 minutes.
Contacting from Beirut, Linda, wife of Vicken Euljekjian told us:
“Vicken spoke for 10 minutes with me, he told me ‘how are you honey? I’m ok, how is my mum, my kids, I’ve missed you all. I didn’t have anything in my phone, I didn’t do anything wrong, don’t be scared, God is great, just be strong, all of you’”.
During the phone call, Vicken told his wife that he was hopeful about the future, because he was innocent of the false charges for which he was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment. He repeated again that there was no evidence to support the charges. Vicken reassured his family, asking them to remain strong and not lose hope, and that everything was going to be alright in the end. Vicken also mentioned that he had received the Christmas parcel they had sent with a few months’ delay. He asked what had been sent, concerned that not everything had reached him. He asked to send more food if possible, a hat, a warm scarf because he was cold and had pains.
During our zoom call on 3 April, Serje, the son of Vicken Euljekjian told us:
“Today, around 12:30 my dad called me on my cell phone, I was totally thrilled because there were rumours he had been killed, I was so happy to hear his voice. He’s not ok there, but he has to say he’s ok, because people behind him are telling him to say it. So he is obviously forced to say he is fine, but any case, we were so relieved to hear his voice”
Vicken Euljekjian was born in Beirut in 1979 into an Armenian family of Genocide survivors. In 2000, he married his childhood sweetheart Linda, or Iman, her Lebanese name, in the Armenian Catholic Holy Cross Church of the Armenian neighbourhood in Beirut, Bourj Hammoud. The couple has 2 beautiful children – now 20-year-old Christine and 23-year-old Serge. The children were brought up as Armenians and attended Armenian schools. In 2018 Vicken decided to move to Armenia, due to the ongoing economic crisis in Lebanon, where he received his Armenian citizenship. He was planning to start a business in his homeland and later bring his family and children to Armenia. However, we know how tragedy unfolded following the 2020 war in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).
On 10 March 2020 Vicken Euljekjian was captured on his way from Yerevan to Shushi in his 7-seater car together with fellow Lebanese-Armenian Maral Najarian. Like many other Armenian nationals, they were unaware that Shushi was handed over to the Azerbaijani side few hours before. He was driving to the Shushi hotel to pick up s his three suitcases he had left there and fled the war on 27 September 2020. They were stopped and arrested by two Azerbaijani soldiers. Vicken was in civilian clothes and was unarmed, and during the search of his car no weapons, ammunition or even sharp object were found.
Nevertheless, on 14 June 2021 Vicken was charged with terrorism and illegal border trespassing and sentenced by the Baku Court to 20 years’ imprisonment. The sham trials in Baku took place without adequate legal representation and interpreting provision for the Armenian prisoners. Vicken continues to categorically maintain his innocence to this day. His family anticipates that the family’s Lebanese lawyer is authorised by Azerbaijani authorities to represent him, defend his rights and to prove his innocence. Azerbaijan continues to obstruct the basic human rights of Vicken Euljekjian and his family, as well as all Armenian hostages held unlawfully in Baku prisons for over two and half years.
Serje, the 23-year-old son of Vicken Euljekjian sent this message through us:
“I just want to say, it is unacceptable to publish such horrible rumours if you’re not sure they’re true. We’re a distressed family and we have feelings, you know. Because we had not heard from my father for 3 months, we were shocked by this news, we had never experienced such level of stress, it’s not nice to do this to people. So please, if you have no evidence, do not post such terrible rumours, that’s all I want to say”.
Vicken is among 33 other Armenian hostages and POWs held illegally by Azerbaijani regime. Already over 50 POWs have been murdered in captivity. Azerbaijan has not confirmed the destiny of 80 others taken hostage, and we fear the worst. Help us to raise awareness and share the PETITION addressed to world leaders.