Ruben Vardanyan contacts family 

ArmInfo.  After more than two weeks of incommunicado detention, Ruben Vardanyan, who has been held 

hostage in Baku for more than six months, was allowed to call his 

family for the first time after his loved ones drew international 

attention to his hunger strike, reads a statement by the family of 

political prisoner Ruben Vardanyan regarding his state of health.

"During the conversation, he mentioned that he had been in complete 

isolation all this time, he was not even allowed to read. As far as 

we know, he is only being measured for his blood pressure and nothing 

else, and we are increasingly afraid that his health is 

deteriorating. Before to end the conversation, he said: "I am now 

more convinced than ever that values and principles are more 

important than everything, even life itself."

We demand that the Azerbaijani authorities immediately allow 

representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross to 

visit him. This is the only way to obtain objective information about 

the state of his health and provide him with all the necessary 

medical care during the hunger strike.

In addition, we reiterate Ruben's demand for the immediate and 

unconditional release of Armenian political prisoners by Azerbaijan.

We thank the world community, the media and everyone who writes and 

talks about Ruben these days. It was thanks to these efforts that his 

first telephone conversation with his family in two weeks took 

place," Vardanyan's family said in a statement.