Ruben Vardanyan's Lawyer Submits Two Motions

Yesterday in Baku, the trial of former Artsakh Prime Minister, businessman, and philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan continued. According to Azerbaijani media reports, during the session, Vardanyan's lawyer Emil Babishov submitted two motions.

Specifically, the defense requested that the testimonies of all witnesses interrogated during the pre-trial investigation and in court, including Kamo Hayrapetyan and Mushegh Grigoryan (who testified in March 2025), be recognized as unreliable and removed from evidence. The lawyer stated that these testimonies have no relevance to Vardanyan.

In the second motion, the lawyer noted that many of the examined incidents pertain to a time when Vardanyan was a citizen of Russia, not Armenia, and was engaged in business activities. In this regard, the defense requested that the testimonies of the so-called “victims” and their legal successors not be considered as evidence when making a final decision.

At the same time, Vardanyan himself requested the inclusion of a number of documents in the case file. The prosecution did not object. The court decided to translate the documents into Azerbaijani and include them in the case materials.

Vardanyan also requested access to the first to fifteenth volumes of the criminal case and asked for the opportunity to summon the so-called witnesses listed within them. The prosecution deemed the repeated interrogation of the witnesses as unfounded. The court granted the request to review the case materials, while the decision regarding the summons of the witnesses will be made later.

The next court hearing is scheduled for December 16. It should be noted that since January 17, the trial regarding the former military-political leaders of Artsakh has been ongoing in Azerbaijan. The accused include former Presidents Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Arayik Harutyunyan, former commander of the defense army Levon Mnatsakanyan, former Foreign Minister Davit Babayan, and others. The case against former Prime Minister and philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan is being examined separately.