On September 16, former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan appealed to Azerbaijan’s Ombudsman, Sabina Aliyeva, requesting an inspection of the detention conditions for Armenian prisoners at the Umbaki penitentiary complex. An audio recording of the appeal was published on his official social media pages.

Vardanyan is being held at Umbaki alongside 18 other Armenian citizens. In his appeal, he cites Azerbaijan’s Code on the Execution of Punishments and a brochure on the rights of convicts that representatives of the Ombudsman’s office distributed to prisoners in April. He points out that the rights enshrined in these documents should apply to all convicts, regardless of the charges brought against them, their nationality, religion, or citizenship.

Among the issues Vardanyan highlights are restrictions on telephone calls: some prisoners are unable to exercise their right to weekly communication, and video calls are unavailable. Consequently, he notes, some have not seen their children for nearly three years.

Vardanyan also claims that convicts are denied the opportunity to undergo medical tests, even at their own expense. Difficulties arise in processing powers of attorney for relatives due to the lack of notary services. Physical exercise is limited to 20–40 minutes once a week, whereas, according to him, up to an hour per day is stipulated. Furthermore, prisoners receive no written responses to their statements and complaints.

Vardanyan specifically addresses the consequences of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) ceasing operations in Azerbaijan. He states that, following this move, most prisoners stopped receiving parcels from relatives. Many also lack the funds to make purchases at the prison store or pay for telephone calls. Vardanyan also mentioned the initiative of his wife, Veronika Zonabend, who had proposed traveling to Baku to meet with the ombudsman and the Armenian prisoners, as well as to deliver over a thousand letters, parcels, and essential items to them. According to Vardanyan, there was no response to her appeals, and no other way to resolve the issue was proposed.

Vardanyan asked Aliyeva to meet with the prisoners and address the issues he had outlined.

"It does not matter how much longer we spend in Umbaki. Please abide by your own laws," he urged.