Ruben Vardanyan from Baku prison. I am convinced now more than ever that values and principles are more important than even life

Having been in isolation for more than two weeks without any contact rights, Ruben Vardanyan was allowed to contact his family for the first time. It happened after Ruben Vardanyan made an urgent appeal to the international community and announced the start of a hunger strike. This is stated in the statement of Ruben Vardanyan's family.

During the phone call, Ruben Vardanyan said that during this time he was in complete isolation and did not even have a chance to read. As far as we know, only his blood pressure was measured and nothing else, which makes us even more worried about his deteriorating health. Ruben Vardanyan said at the end. "I am convinced now more than ever that values and principles are more important than even life."

We demand that Azerbaijan allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit him immediately so that we can have independent evidence of his health and make sure that he is receiving proper medical care during his hunger strike.

In addition, we reaffirm Ruben's demand to immediately and unconditionally release the Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan.

We express our gratitude to the international community, the media and all those who write and speak about Ruben these days. It was thanks to these efforts that his first telephone contact with his family became possible after more than two weeks.