Vicken Euljekjian, Lebanese Armenian held in Azerbaijan, on hunger strike for more than 15 days

Vicken Euljekjian, a Lebanese Armenian being held in Azerbaijani captivity since 2020, has been on a hunger strike for more than 15 days. Luciana Manoukian, the director of the Buenos Aires branch of the Society for Orphaned Armenian Relief (SOAR), has informed about this on X.

The aforesaid organization has sent a letter to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), presenting Euljekjian’s situation and calling for action.

“Vicken Euljekjian, who has been held in Azerbaijan as an Armenian prisoner of war [(POW)] since 2020, is conducting a silent but deeply painful protest through a hunger strike that has been going on for more than 15 days. His demand is extremely simple: a phone call to his wife, Linda. Just one call—a basic human connection; that’s all he’s seeking,” the aforementioned letter states.

Also, they recall that the Geneva Convention guarantees the right of POWs to maintain regular contact with their families. However, this right is being violated by Azerbaijan. Also, Azerbaijani authorities are not allowing the ICRC to enter the prison where Euljekjian and other Armenians are being held, thereby cutting off their contact with the outside world and their loved ones.

It is emphasized that since February 21, Armenian civilians being held in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku have been deprived of contact with their families. Their families have no information about their loved ones—where they are, in what conditions they are being held, how they are doing, or even whether they are alive.