The trial in the case of the ex-head of the government of Nagorno-Karabakh Vardanyan will begin on January 17
On January 17, the first session of the Baku Military Court in the case of former Minister of State of Nagorno-Karabakh Ruben Vardanyan will be held. He will be tried for mercenary, financing of terrorism, attempt to seize power, as well as other criminal articles. Vardanyan may face life imprisonment. He went on hunger strike twice in the pre-trial detention center.
Ex-citizen of the Russian Federation, major businessman, billionaire Vardanyan was detained by Azerbaijani security forces on September 27, 2023 when he tried to leave Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia. He was transferred to Baku, on the same day he was charged under 3 articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. Then the criminal case grew to 45 episodes under 20 articles.
The international legal adviser of the Vardanyan family, Jared Jenser, previously reported that the accusations by the Azerbaijani authorities are groundless and politically motivated, which is confirmed by Baku's refusal to provide evidence for their objective consideration. According to Jenser, the purpose of these actions is to justify a closed trial, which will be unfair and completely dependent on the Aliyev regime.
