Christian Solidarity International is urging U.S. President Donald Trump to demand the release of Armenian Christian hostages held by Azerbaijan.

CSI reported in particular on Nov. 18 that Vicken Euljekjian, a citizen of Armenia and Lebanon who has been illegally detained by Azerbaijan for five years, is in dramatically deteriorating health, his family and supporters have revealed.

Euljekjian is one of at least 23 Armenian Christian hostages being held by the Azerbaijani authorities.

President Trump had pledged on August 8, 2025, to ask Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev for the release of all "23 Christians," including Vicken, according to CSI which said that Trump had "added optimistically," "I think he'll do it for me."

Aliyev has so far refused to meet President Trump's humanitarian request. Christian Solidarity International (CSI) urges Trump to demand the immediate release of Vicken Euljekjian and all other Armenian Christian hostages held by the Aliyev regime.

"Vicken Euljekjian and the other Armenian Christian hostages referred to by President Trump appear to have been left behind by the Washington-led peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia," commented CSI Director for Public Advocacy . Joel Veldkamp.

Separately CSI, which is an interconfessional Christian human rights organization, said it visited Armenia from November 13-17.

During the visit, CSI International president John Eibner and director of advocacy Joel Veldkamp met with religious leaders, human rights lawyers, and political leaders to assess mounting concerns over religious freedom and government interference in church affairs in Armenia which is a mainly Christian country.

During the visit, CSI was not granted permission to visit detained clergy and supporters of the Armenian Apostolic Church by the Ministry of Justice, a development that Veldkamp described in a press conference as irregular.

CSI further notes that in the weeks preceding its visit, two family members of the head of the Armenian national church, two defense lawyers, and the elected mayor of Armenia's second-largest city were detained, and a second mayor representing the opposition Country for Living party was murdered.

The CSI delegation also witnessed an escalating government crackdown on free media, including the detention of two podcasters and a journalist by masked internal security officers on the day of their arrival, as well as a call by ruling party lawmakers to confiscate the Union of Journalists' building, which was issued just as Eibner was being hosted for an interview in that very building.

During the visit, CSI was not granted permission to visit detained clergy and supporters of the Armenian Apostolic Church by the Ministry of Justice, a development that Veldkamp described in a Saturday press conference as irregular.

CSI further noted that in the weeks preceding its visit, two family members of the head of the Armenian national church, two defense lawyers, and the elected mayor of Armenia's second-largest city were detained, and a second mayor representing the opposition Country for Living party was murdered.

The CSI delegation said it also witnessed an escalating government crackdown on free media, including the detention of two podcasters and a journalist by masked internal security officers on the day of their arrival, as well as a call by ruling party lawmakers to confiscate the Union of Journalists' building, which was issued just as Eibner was being hosted for an interview in that very building.

In Jly when it was reported that the Armenian government and the Armenian Apostolic Church were at odds with each other, the World Council of Churches has called upon the government in Yerevan to respect religious freedom.

Regarding Euljekjian, CSI said that in a sworn affidavit on November 16, his wife, Linda, and a legal representative, Luciana Minassian, called for an immediate independent medical evaluation of Euljekjian, who is being held in prison in Baku.

          - 'CAN NO LONGER WALK'

It followed a phone call between Linda Euljekjian and her husband, in which Vicken stated that he can no longer walk, his physical condition has dramatically worsened, and he now requires a wheelchair for mobility, although this has not been provided.

"On this date, 16 November 2025, Mr. Vicken Euljekjian placed a brief telephone call to his family. This marks the first contact after more than forty-five (45) days during which Azerbaijani authorities prevented all communication," according to the document published on X.

Euljekjian told his wife that he had been taken to see a doctor but had received no medication or treatment. "He remains without medical care, in violation of basic humanitarian standards," the document stated.

The Armenian detainee also reported that proper meals were being withheld from him and that all the nourishment he received was tea and bread.

"The denial of medical care, food deprivation, obstruction of medication, and the refusal to provide a wheelchair pose a grave threat to Vicken's health and life," the affidavit continued.

"These conditions — if verified — may constitute violations of international human law, the rights of detainees to humane treatment, UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Mandela Rules), the prohibition of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment."

In conclusion, the affidavit called for an immediate international response including humanitarian access to the prisoner by qualified international bodies, the provision of a wheelchair, medical assistance and proper nutrition.

Euljekjian, 46, is a citizen of Armenia and Lebanon, who CSI said was kidnapped by Azerbaijani troops in Nagorno Karabakh on November 10, 2020 — a day after a ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan ended the Second Karabakh War. He is one of six civilian hostages held by Azerbaijan.