Detained Former Karabakh Separatist Official Ends Hunger Strike, Says Family

Ruben Vardanian, a former Russian citizen of Armenian descent who served as prime minister in the de facto government of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh from November 2022 to February 2023, has ended a hunger strike in a Baku prison, his family said on April 25. A family statement said he ended the hunger strike because his health was deteriorating. Vardanian, a billionaire banker who renounced his Russian citizenship, was arrested and brought to Baku after Azerbaijan retook Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023. He began the hunger strike to demand his release and that of other detained former Karabakh separatist leaders. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.