YEREVAN, Armenia — Representatives of the Artsakh Union held a demonstration in front of the main government building in Yerevan on Thursday, October 1, 2026, delivering 1,254 letters written to Armenian prisoners currently detained in Azerbaijan, along with a formal petition addressed to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The demonstration, led by Artsakh Union President Artak Beglaryan, aimed to compel the Armenian government to act as an intermediary to ensure the letters reach their intended recipients.

A Global Humanitarian Appeal

According to Beglaryan, the correspondence was gathered as part of a global humanitarian initiative launched by Veronika Zonabend, the wife of imprisoned philanthropist and former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan. The campaign drew responses from people across numerous countries, all seeking to establish contact with the detainees.

The initiative turned to the Armenian state after facing bureaucratic roadblocks. Beglaryan told reporters that Azerbaijani authorities completely ignored Zonabend’s direct appeals. Furthermore, he noted that the Armenian government failed to take practical steps to help organize a proposed visit by a delegation of international women who had joined the campaign.

With Zonabend's explicit consent, the Artsakh Union stepped in to hand the physical collection over to domestic authorities.

Demanding State Accountability

The organizers emphasized that the Armenian government holds a direct legal and moral obligation to citizens and compatriots unlawfully held in Azerbaijani captivity. Because Yerevan maintains direct diplomatic communication channels with Baku, organizers insist that the state possesses the necessary leverage to handle the secure transit of the mail.

"They must take every possible measure to ensure that these letters reach the prisoners," Beglaryan stressed during his address to the press.

The petition delivered alongside the letters calls on Prime Minister Pashinyan to prioritize the human rights of the captives and aggressively push for their immediate communication rights and ultimate release.