Unfortunately, There Is No Good News: Ruben Vardanyan's Wife on the Trial in Baku

Unfortunately, there is no good news. This week it was announced that "the trial is complete," and the phase of judicial debates will begin soon. At the same time, it is unclear between whom these debates will occur. No independent experts have been allowed to attend the court sessions. Over the course of a year’s hearings, the court has not granted practically any motion or request from Ruben and his lawyer, many of which remain unanswered to this day.

Veronika Zonabend, the wife of former Artsakh Prime Minister Ruben Vardanyan, stated this in an interview with Mediamax: “Although the court sessions are supposedly open, attendance is restricted to a list, and the courtroom is surrounded by police. The so-called victims and their relatives say they have not ‘met with Vardanyan, do not know him personally, and only know about him through the media, but believe that the strictest measures should be applied against him.’ Moreover, none of the witnesses he requested to invite have been summoned to the court to testify. It is clear that the court’s decision will be outside the legal framework. Furthermore, this so-called judicial process represents a complete rejection of justice,” Vardanyan’s wife said.

She added, “Fortunately, Ruben is still allowed to call once a week, sometimes twice for 10 minutes. Neither I nor other family members have real information about his health condition; we can only assess it by his voice. Throughout this entire time, except for just a few weeks, Ruben has been kept in solitary confinement. He is almost completely isolated and does not have access to the internet. His only connection to the outside world is through letters from his friends and those who wish to support him.”