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Washington, D.C. - As he approaches two years of unjust imprisonment in Baku, Ruben Vardanyan's supporters, from fellow humanitarian Noubar Afeyan - who once again called for his release on CNN - to Amnesty International to the Trump Administration have ensured his son David Vardanyan, that Armenian political prisoners, and prisoners of war and civilian captives illegally held as hostages in Baku, remain in the spotlight. David Vardanyan will be addressing the Armenian Assembly of America's (Assembly) Spring 2025 Advocacy Summit on Tuesday, April 1, at the University Club.
In the lead-up to the Summit and in a letter sent last week to President Donald Trump, the Assembly underscored that "true peace cannot be achieved" until all of the hostages are released, and urged the President to "use every tool at your disposal to secure their immediate freedom."
David, son of businessman, philanthropist, and former State Minister of the Republic of Artsakh Ruben Vardanyan, has been a strong advocate for his father publicly and in the media to bring much-needed awareness to the Armenian prisoners of war. In an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, he denounced the 'complete lack of transparency' for his father's court hearings in Baku, where he is being held unlawfully by Azerbaijan's dictatorial regime.
In a recent video message, David Vardanyan called upon 'our global nation to fight against the sham trials taking place in Baku against his father and the rest of our compatriots who gave their all for the freedom of Artsakh.'
Born in Yerevan, Ruben Vardanyan is an Armenian business leader, social entrepreneur and venture philanthropist. He co-founded the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative and has been dedicated to the preservation of cultural and historical heritage in Armenia and abroad, education, research, and solving humanitarian problems. In September 2023, Ruben Vardanyan was unjustly arrested by the Azerbaijani government when trying to leave the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia, and has been illegally detained ever since. Members of the global humanitarian and human rights community have repeatedly called for his immediate release.
In an interview with CNN earlier this week, Moderna Co-Founder and fellow philanthropist Noubar Afeyan called for Ruben Vardanyan's release, and emphasized that an Armenia-Azerbaijan treaty must include the release of Armenian prisoners of war.
The Assembly's Spring 2025 Advocacy Summit is scheduled for Monday, March 31 through Wednesday, April 2, and will include informative briefings, panel discussions, and meetings with Members of Congress. A Welcome Reception will be held on Tuesday, April 1, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. For more information and to register, please click here.
Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a strictly non-partisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
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NR# 2025-19
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