In an exclusiveinterview with Forbes Womanphilanthropist and co-founder of Noôdome, Veronika Zonabend, spoke about what happened after her husband, Ruben Vardanyan, was arrested in 2023, how she is now managing their family affairs and charitable projects, and what efforts she is making to secure his release.
She noted that she last saw her husband in the fall of 2022.
“He was in Stepanakert. My youngest son and I went to see him. And literally two weeks later, a blockade began, not allowing anyone to enter or leave. Essential goods stopped arriving. By the end of the nine-month blockade, famine had practically set in. And if it weren’t for Ruben, who was able to introduce a rationing system, organize mobile ambulances and free canteens, the death toll would have been higher.
When Azerbaijani troops entered the territory in September 2023, a mass exodus began, and it became clear that there was no way out. Ruben was illegally detained at the Lachin Corridor border crossing. This happened on September 27, 2023.
After Ruben’s arrest, when the Red Cross was there (the Azerbaijani government closed the Red Cross office on September 3, 2025 – Forbes Woman), they visited the prisoners once a month and made video recordings. This meant that we could see Ruben on video every three weeks. And we could record messages for him.
"It's been over a year since we last had a video call. Only recently, through a lawyer, did I manage to send photos of our granddaughters, who were born while Ruben was in prison. Our eldest granddaughter is already two years old, and the youngest is three months old," Vardanyan's wife noted.
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