Ruben Vardanyan Faces Life Imprisonment, Say Defenders

The former Prime Minister of Artsakh, Ruben Vardanyan, is facing a new and extensive package of potential charges consisting of around 45 allegations, according to his defense team, presented by Azerbaijani prosecutors. These charges could lead to the prospect of life imprisonment for Vardanyan.

The new allegations against Ruben Vardanyan relate to the characteristics outlined in 20 different articles of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code. Fabricated evidence has been submitted in a bundle of 100 volumes, amounting to nearly 25,000 pages, all in Azerbaijani.

Furthermore, the alleged "evidence" has been completely concealed from both Ruben Vardanyan and the public, under the pretext that these charges pertain to "Azerbaijan's national security." The Azerbaijani side has also refused to provide Vardanyan and his lawyer with copies of the "evidence." They are allowed to familiarize themselves with the materials without proper translation and under limited timeframes, but "for national security reasons," they are restricted from making any notes.

Vardanyan and his attorney are limited in their rights to prepare for defense during the trial. "These charges grossly violate Azerbaijan's international legal obligations. This long list of accusations is an evident cynical attempt to blame Ruben Vardanyan for everything the Azerbaijani regime has done in Nagorno-Karabakh. Moreover, Azerbaijan's refusal to make public and disclose all the accusations and so-called evidence against Vardanyan reaffirms that they are politically motivated. The regime also understands that any independent observer will notice that there is no credible evidence in the presented allegations and will not support their baseless charges. This approach is evidently designed for Aliyev to justify conducting a secret trial that will be neither independent nor impartial," stated Jared Genser, the international legal advisor for the Vardanyan family.

"These latest allegations against my father are a mockery of justice and retribution for the failures of COP29. Ruben Vardanyan served as the Prime Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh for three months, during which he endeavored to improve the lives of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh through vital social programs. Unfortunately, for this, he is now facing a life imprisonment threat from one of the most corrupt regimes in the world. His arrest and the fabricated charges signal to Armenians worldwide that no one is safe. It has been more than two years since our family has seen him. We fear that we may never see him again if the democratic world does not take action to end this absurdity," said David Vardanyan, Ruben Vardanyan's son.

The Vardanyan family is calling upon the democratic world to show that such egregious violations can no longer be tolerated and to ensure that international organizations and media are present during the trial.