The Translator is Incorrect: Details from Ruben Vartanyan's Trial

The Baku military court continued the trial of Ruben Vartanyan and other officials from Artsakh yesterday. Vartanyan's case is being examined separately and will continue on February 10. The trials of other Artsakh figures are taking place today.

According to Azerbaijani media, excerpts from the indictment were presented during yesterday's sessions, and former Artsakh President Araik Harutyunyan and former Foreign Minister David Babayan were also given the opportunity to speak. A portion of Ruben Vartanyan's indictment was presented as well.

Syrianush Sahakyan, a lawyer who defends the rights of Armenian prisoners in the European Court of Human Rights, shared some details about Ruben Vartanyan's trial with NEWS.am, relayed by the local lawyer to Vartanyan's family.

“We have received certain alternative information from the trial of Ruben Vartanyan, which the family obtained through his lawyer Abraham Bermani. During the session, the defense presented two objections, one concerning the translator. Besides the fact that the fabricated case contains 422 volumes in Azerbaijani, it turned out that the appointed translator, who was supposed to provide at least a verbal translation of the case materials (as written translation is not allowed, even notes), did not provide normal verbal translation and made serious mistakes. In some places, references were made not to Azerbaijani legislation but to Belarusian law. According to the information I received, the court ordered that adequate translation be provided to Ruben Vartanyan and his defense team. This was only during the third session, when the essence of the case was being examined. Additionally, all requests from the defense team regarding obtaining copies of the case and familiarizing themselves with the content of the videos were rejected. Naturally, Azerbaijani media do not report on this,” Sahakyan noted.

Regarding the statements made by Araik Harutyunyan and David Babayan, Sahakyan mentioned that these were, of course, made under pressure: “No expert of any international standard would find these testimonies credible.” She pointed out that it becomes clear from the published excerpts of the indictment that the overall sense of this trial is to reach the inadmissibility of the principle of the right to self-determination of Artsakh and to eliminate all efforts for self-determination. They are trying to demonstrate at every opportunity that all of this has been 'criminal activity of seizing territories.'”