Appeals urge Vance to press for release of Armenian detainees ahead of Caucasus visit

As U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance prepares to visit Armenia and Azerbaijan next week, a growing number of public figures in Armenia have addressed him in open letters, urging Washington to press Baku for the release of Armenians held in Azerbaijani custody, including former Nagorno-Karabakh officials.

Among the appeals is a letter from the son of Ruben Vardanyan, the former state minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, who has been detained by Azerbaijan since September 2023. In an appeal dated Wednesday, he called on the United States to make the release of Armenian detainees a priority ahead of Vance’s regional visit.

The following day, an Azerbaijani military court sentenced seven former Nagorno-Karabakh political and military leaders to lengthy prison terms, though Vardanyan is still awaiting sentencing. Five of the leaders, including former presidents Arayik Harutyunyan, Arkady Ghukasyan, and Bako Sahakyan, received life sentences, while two others were sentenced to 20 years in prison due to their age. The defendants were found guilty on charges including war crimes, crimes against humanity, terrorism, and “genocide.” Human rights advocates have widely condemned the proceedings as politically motivated. 

Religious figures have also joined the calls. On Monday, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan sent an open letter to Vance, urging the United States to raise the issue of imprisoned Armenian clergy and to intervene against what he described as the persecution of the Armenian Apostolic Church. 

Former Armenian human rights ombudsman and political figure Arman Tatoyan likewise addressed Vance in a letter dated last Saturday, calling on him to help secure the release of all Armenians detained in Azerbaijan and to ensure that the issue is not sidelined by broader diplomatic negotiations.

Catholicos Aram I of the Lebanon-based Great House of Cilicia similarly called on Vance this week to work for the release of the Armenian prisoners in Baku, as well as to personally intervene for the safe preservation of spiritual and cultural monuments in Nagorno-Karabakh. 

Vance is scheduled to visit Armenia and Azerbaijan next week, making him the highest-ranking U.S. official to ever visit Armenia. The trip is expected to focus primarily on the U.S.-brokered efforts to advance Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization, including follow-up on a transport and connectivity framework agreed last year.

The timing of the visit has raised hopes that Washington could use its leverage to push for the prisoners’ release, which their supporters say would be essential to any credible peace process.