After 45 days of silence, Lebanese Armenian Vicken Euljekjian, who is imprisoned in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, finally was able to call his wife and informed that his health has deteriorated and he cannot walk anymore, reports Azatutyun, the RFE/RL’s Armenian service.
“I had been waiting for this call for 45 days, and yesterday he finally called me and said, ‘Hello Linda, how are you?’ His voice was changed, weak. I asked him, ‘What happened to you, Vicken?’ He said, ‘Linda, I can no longer walk, my legs hurt a lot,’” the wife said.
According to Linda Euljekjian, despite Vicken’s leg pain and heart problems, the prison guards refuse to provide the medicines prescribed by the doctor.
Vicken has no opportunity to speak with anyone or ask for help. The Armenian prisoner, held in a Baku prison for about 5 years, is helpless and desperate.
“Vicken says he wants to speak with someone, but no one in the prison talks to him—neither the authorities nor the guards. He told me, ‘You know, we only eat bread and tea.’ I asked, ‘Why, why don’t they give you food?’ He said, ‘I don’t know.’ My husband’s condition is very, very bad. When I imagine that he already needs a wheelchair, my heart is turned upside down, although Vicken is a very strong young man, a handsome man, only 46 years old,” Linda Euljekjian said.
His wife does not have clear information on the reason why Vicken can no longer walk. She believes it is the result of severe beatings. Linda says that when the Azerbaijanis captured him, they beat him severely, which damaged his legs.
Vicken Euljekjian was captured by Azerbaijanis along with Lebanese Armenian woman Maral Najarian after the 44-day war, on November 10, 2020, on the way to Shushi, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).
Linda says that when Red Cross representatives still had access to visit Vicken, they reported that he frequently argued with the guards. According to his wife, the reason was the mistreatment, which Vicken could not tolerate.
Vicken asked his wife to help prove his innocence, that he is not a terrorist, as he had been accused in Baku and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Linda appeals to the Armenian government and the world: “Translate this so that they understand me well. I am a mother, I am a wife, I need my husband. I ask all governments involved in prisoner issues, please, do something, because it is no longer possible to endure.”
“He was crying when he spoke to his son; my boy was also crying. My son is 25 years old, he is engaged, and he told his father he will not marry until Vicken comes home, he has been waiting for 5 years,” Linda said.
Also, Vicken’s wife informed that her husband has a lawyer, Luciana Minassian from Argentina. According to her, the lawyer is doing everything possible to help Vicken, working together with Argentine lawyer and former prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno Ocampo.
“Vicken is not a terrorist, he is a citizen of Armenia, and therefore he cannot be a mercenary. Sentencing him to 20 years in prison is not fair,” she emphasized.
Linda wants to believe that her husband will finally return from captivity before the New Year, although her hope is fading, especially after recently learning that the Azerbaijani prosecutor requested life imprisonment for the former Armenian leaders of Artsakh. “I realized that no one can help the 23 Armenian prisoners [in Baku],” she said.
