Representatives of the Azerbaijani public have taken a firm stance against campaigns carried out by pro-Armenian organizations in some Western countries, portraying several war criminals convicted in Azerbaijan, including war criminal Ruben Vardanyan, as "victims," APA reports.
An Open Letter issued by Azerbaijani NGOs, families of martyrs, relatives of missing persons, victims of mine terror, and former internally displaced persons states that Ruben Vardanyan and others were convicted for committing grave crimes, as well as for financing separatism and terrorism.
It was noted that the artificially created campaigns built around their names are intended to silence and overshadow the rightful voices of the real victims of these crimes — thousands of Azerbaijanis who directly suffered for decades from conflict, occupation, ethnic cleansing, terrorism, and the threat of landmines.
The document emphasizes that Azerbaijani civil society has for many years addressed appeals to international institutions, demanding the protection of the rights of victims of war crimes, the restoration of historical justice, and the upholding of the principles of international accountability. In this context, it recalls the Open Letter addressed to U.S. President Donald Trump (https://en.apa.az/foreign-policy/azerbaijani-ngos-address-open-letter-to-us-president-donald-trump-487462), strong protest appeals regarding unilateral initiatives put forward in the U.S. Congress (https://azertag.az/en/xeber/4264859), as well as statements sent to the Lemkin Institute (https://report.az/en/foreign-politics/azerbaijani-ngos-call-on-us-based-lemkin-institute-to-apologize), members of the UK Parliament (https://www.azernews.az/nation/254843.html), and other international institutions. The authors of the appeal specifically declare that Azerbaijan's right and obligation to investigate grave crimes committed within its sovereign territories, ensure the rule of law, and bring those responsible to justice stem both from its domestic legislation and from fundamental norms of international law, and that any external interference in this sovereign right is unacceptable.
The document states that for decades, numerous appeals by the families of missing persons to the international community have gone unanswered. It notes that the fate of more than 4,000 Azerbaijanis who went missing as a result of Armenia's military aggression remains unknown to this day, while the humanitarian tragedy of more than 3,400 mine victims has been deliberately overlooked in global campaigns. It specifically cites the tragic fate of Elmira Dadashova, who passed away last year after spending her life in deep emotional suffering without ever receiving any information about her missing son, as an example of the international community's double standards and the moral harm inflicted on victims.
The letter states that the initialing of the draft "Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia" in Washington in August 2025 laid the foundation for a fundamentally new stage of development in the region. At the same time, it firmly emphasizes that lasting peace in the South Caucasus is possible only through a fair legal assessment of the grave war crimes committed in the past, holding those responsible accountable before the law, and fully restoring the violated rights of the victims.
The full text of the Open Letter is available at the following link:
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