Lebanese-Armenian Vicken Euljeckjian released after more than five years of detention in Azerbaijan

After more than five years of detention in Azerbaijan, Vicken Euljeckjian, a Lebanese-Armenian captured as a civilian shortly after the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh between Yerevan and Baku was released Wednesday morning, relatives of his family told L'Orient Today on Thursday.

He'd been accused of participating in the war as a "terrorist mercenary" in a trial that human rights organizations called "completely fabricated." His detention was marked by systematic torture and medical neglect.

Upon his release, the 46-year-old father of two was transferred to a military hospital in Armenia before being sent to an army center for questioning, according to his wife, who went there to meet him.

Family members interviewed by L'Orient Today in February 2023 reported his health had deteriorated during his detention, but relatives now say that "he is well."

The family awaits coordination with the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to arrange his return to Beirut, and no date has been set yet. Lebanese diplomats could not immediately be reached for comment.

From our archives

He moved from Lebanon to Armenia for a better life. Now he’s in his fourth year of Azerbaijan detention

Euljeckjian was born in Bourj Hammoud, a suburb of Beirut, where he lived with his family and ran a cafe. In 2016, as the economic situation deteriorated in Lebanon, they decided to emigrate to Armenia, where Euljeckjian worked odd jobs and eventually obtained citizenship.

One of his jobs was as a tour guide in Nagorno-Karabakh. When war broke out in autumn 2020 between Armenia and Azerbaijan, he volunteered, but according to his family, only ended up spending a brief stint in battle before returning to Yerevan in the first days of the conflict.

After the cease-fire was signed on Nov. 9, 2020, he went back to Nagorno-Karabakh to collect his belongings. Unaware that the city of Shushi was then under Azerbaijani control, he was arrested on Nov. 10 and transferred to Baku.

Euljeckjian was accused by the State Security Services of being a "terrorist mercenary" from Lebanon, allegedly paid to fight, and was convicted on June 14, 2021.

The decision was denounced by the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which stated he had been "kidnapped by Azerbaijani armed forces" and that the verdict was based on "confessions obtained under torture."

Siranush Sahakyan, an international law expert and a representative of the interests of Armenian prisoners of war at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), told L'Orient Today in 2024 that Euljeckjian's criminal case was "completely fabricated."

Sentenced to 20 years in prison

According to the Center for Truth and Justice (CFTJ), an organization founded by a group of lawyers to preserve testimonies gathered after the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh, Euljeckjian was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2021 by the Baku military court, without access to independent legal representation.

The CFTJ learned that Euljeckjian had been subjected to systematic acts of torture and inhuman treatment, including physical and psychological violence, as well as medical neglect.

During his detention, his family made multiple efforts to have his innocence recognized. His mother died while he was still imprisoned in Azerbaijani jails, after repeatedly appealing to Lebanese officials in hopes of securing his release.