Baku court: Former unrecognized NKR leader Ruben Vardanyan refuses to answer questions
Trial of Ruben Vardanyan
A new hearing was held at the Baku Court Complex in the case of Ruben Vardanyan, the former prime minister of the now-defunct unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR). He faces a lengthy list of serious charges, including terrorism, its financing, and other offenses.
However, after the charges were read out in court, Vardanyan refused to answer questions, stating that his silence was a form of protest.
The next hearing is scheduled for February 25.
The case is being handled by judges of the Baku Military Court: Zeynal Agayev (presiding), Jamal Ramazanov, and Anar Rzayev, according to the local outlet Report.
The defendant was provided with a Russian-language interpreter and legal counsel.
The hearing was also attended by victims, their legal successors and representatives, as well as state prosecutors.
Vardanyan again requests judge recusal, but petition rejected
At the start of the hearing, the court granted Ruben Vardanyan and his lawyer Avraham Berman’s request for a confidential meeting. A recess was announced.
Following the meeting, Vardanyan and his defense filed a motion to recuse the judges overseeing the case.
State prosecutors Vusal Aliyev and Fuad Musaev pointed out that a similar motion had already been reviewed in a previous hearing. They also cited Azerbaijan’s criminal procedure laws, which require that a request for judge recusal be substantiated.
Arguing that the motion lacked specific grounds, prosecutors asked the court to dismiss it without review. The victims also supported the prosecution’s position.
The judges ruled in favor of the prosecution and left the motion without consideration.
“Crimes were committed under direct leadership and participation of Armenia”
After the judges’ recusal was denied, the hearing proceeded to the announcement of the episodes of the indictment.
The main charges include:
- The mining of Azerbaijani territories under occupation,
- The torture of Azerbaijani hostages and prisoners,
- Individual criminal acts.
It was emphasized that all these crimes were committed during the aggressive war waged by Armenia and its illegal separatist entity.
According to reports from the pro-government publication Report, the prosecution stated the following:
“The crimes were committed under the direct leadership and participation of Armenia, its state bodies, officials, armed forces, and illegal armed formations, based on verbal and written orders, directives, and instructions, as well as material, technical, and personnel support, centralized management, and strict oversight by them.
These criminal acts were carried out in violation of domestic and international law, under the leadership and with the direct and indirect participation of Robert Kocharyan (former President of Armenia), Serzh Sargsyan (former President of Armenia), Vazgen Manukyan, Vazgen Sargsyan, Samvel Babayan, Vitaly Balasanyan, Zori Balayan, Seyran Ohanyan, Arshavir Karapetyan, Monte Melkonyan, and others.“
“On circumstances that made Azerbaijan’s anti-terrorist operation in September 2023 inevitable”
The publication Report also cites the following charges presented at the trial:
“Between September 12 and 14, 2022, as a result of intense shelling from Armenia’s combat positions using large-caliber weapons, mortars, and artillery of various calibers targeting Azerbaijani military outposts and headquarters in the Zangilan, Gubadli, Dashkasan, Kalbajar, and Lachin districts, 77 Azerbaijani servicemen were deliberately killed.
Attempts were also made to intentionally kill 435 servicemen and one civilian in the Kalbajar district, who sustained severe injuries.
Armenia armed the so-called ‘Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’ and its illegal armed formations—established on Azerbaijan’s occupied sovereign territories and operating under its control—directly through Ruben Vardanyan and other individuals.
In total, the separatists were supplied with:
- 160 units of various types of armored vehicles,
- 16,805,903 units of various small arms, components, and ammunition,
- 230 units of various types of mortars,
- 137 units of various anti-tank weapons,
- 162 units of various types of artillery pieces,
- 3 ground-based radar systems and other military-technical equipment,
- 41,522 units of various types of hand grenades,
- The ‘Pole-21’ jamming system, used to deflect aircraft and other equipment from their targets,
- The ‘Repellent-1’ electronic warfare system, used to suppress navigation and telemetry signals.”*
What charges are brought against Ruben Vardanyan?
In conclusion, Senior Assistant to the Prosecutor General, Vusal Aliyev, announced the articles of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code under which Ruben Vardanyan is charged:
- 100.1, 100.2 – Planning, preparation, initiation, and conduct of an aggressive war
- 107 – Deportation and forced displacement of the population
- 109 – Persecution
- 110 – Enforced disappearance of persons
- 112 – Unlawful deprivation of liberty in violation of international law
- 113 – Torture
- 114.1 – Mercenarism
- 115.2 – Violation of the laws and customs of war
- 116.0.1, 116.0.2, 116.0.10, 116.0.11, 116.0.16, 116.0.18 – Violations of international humanitarian law during armed conflict
- 120.2.1, 120.2.3, 120.2.4, 120.2.7, 120.2.11, 120.2.12 – Intentional murder
- 29,120.2.1, 29,120.2.3, 29,120.2.4, 29,120.2.7, 29,120.2.11, 29,120.2.12 – Attempted intentional murder
- 192.3.1 – Illegal entrepreneurship
- 214.2.1, 214.2.3, 214.2.4 – Terrorism
- 214-1 – Financing of terrorism
- 218.1, 218.2 – Establishment of a criminal organization
- 228.3 – Illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation, or possession of firearms, components, ammunition, explosives, and explosive devices
- 270-1.2, 270-1.4 – Acts threatening aviation security
- 278.1 – Violent seizure or retention of power, violent change of the constitutional order
- 279.1, 279.2, 279.3 – Creation of armed formations or groups not provided for by law
- 318.2 – Illegal crossing of the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan
With this, the reading of the operative part of the indictment was concluded.
The presiding judge, Zeynal Agayev, then explained to the defendant the nature of each charge, the legal qualification of the alleged acts, the punishment prescribed by criminal law for these offenses, and the rights to which the accused is entitled.
Ruben Vardanyan declares protest and refuses to answer questions
After this, the judge, in accordance with the law, asked the defendant whether he pleaded guilty. “The defendant refused to answer the questions as a sign of protest,” the statement reads.
The next court hearing is scheduled for February 25.
