Baku Rejects Ruben Vardanyan's Appeal, Leaving It Unexamined

The "court" in Baku has rejected the motion and left without examination the appeal of Ruben Vardanyan, the former Prime Minister of Artsakh, businessman, and philanthropist. According to Azerbaijani media reports, during today’s session, Vardanyan appealed to the "court" requesting a copy of the "indictment" for his family.

Vusal Aliyev, the senior assistant to the Attorney General of Azerbaijan, commented on the motion stating that the "indictment" contains information that constitutes the personal and family secrets of participants in the criminal proceedings, and their dissemination is considered illegal under the law. Additionally, he noted that the Criminal Procedure Code of Azerbaijan has clarified the list of individuals to whom the indictment and its copy can be provided, and the family members of the accused are not included in that list. He requested that the motion be denied.

The "judges' panel" held a consultation on-site and decided to reject the motion. Subsequently, Vardanyan filed an objection, declaring that he contests the decision of the "judges' panel" as the charges had not been provided to his family members, and the motions submitted in previous sessions had not been satisfied. Lawyer Abraham Berman defended the appeal.

The participants in the proceedings, referred to as "victims," requested the "court" not to grant Vardanyan’s and his lawyer’s objections. The "court" then left for consultation.

As a result, Vardanyan's objection was left without examination. It should be noted that the next "court session" is scheduled for June 10.

It is worth recalling that since January 17, a fabricated judicial process is underway in Azerbaijan against representatives of the military-political leadership of Artsakh. Among the accused are former Presidents Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, and Arayik Harutyunyan, former Prime Minister Ruben Vardanyan, former commander of the defense army Levon Mnatsakanyan, his deputy David Manukyan, former Foreign Minister David Babayan, and former Parliament Speaker David Ishkhanyan. Ruben Vardanyan's case is being examined separately. Despite his motion to join the materials of his case with those of the other accused, the court decided to examine 400 out of 422 volumes separately.