Baku has not presented any evidence proving Ruben Vardanyan's guilt

More than eight months have passed since the start of the “trial” of former Artsakh state minister and philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan, but no evidence has been presented that he personally committed any crime. This is stated in a statement by the Free Armenian Prisoners initiative.

"Moreover, during the mentioned periods, he could not have done everything he is accused of. All the so-called "witnesses" state that they have never seen Vardanyan and have not personally known him, but have only heard about him from the media," the statement says.

The initiative recalls that since the beginning of the “judicial process” in January 2025, 36 court sessions have been held. The case is being heard in a military court, separate from the cases of other former leaders of Artsakh. Although the Azerbaijani authorities promised an open process, only the state news agency was allowed to participate in it, and all requests from independent international observers were rejected or ignored.

Moreover, lawyer Siranush Sahakyan, who defends the interests of Armenian prisoners of war in the European Court, has published a report concluding that an unfair trial is being held in Baku, where the defense is deprived of any real opportunity to challenge the charges or prove the defendant's innocence.

Free Armenian Prisoners recalls that Vardanyan has twice gone on hunger strike as a sign of protest against the ongoing judicial farce. He noted that this “trial” is a blow to an entire nation, an attempt to blame all those who helped Nagorno-Karabakh and its people, as well as all those who showed compassion.

Let us recall that in September 2022, Ruben Vardanyan moved to Artsakh, and on November 4, he was appointed State Minister of Artsakh. On February 23, 2023, he was dismissed from his post, but remained in Artsakh until the September 2023 aggression.

On September 27, he was illegally arrested and remains in a Baku prison with other political and military figures from Artsakh. Azerbaijani law enforcement agencies have falsely accused Vardanyan of financing terrorism, creating armed groups, and illegally crossing the border. Despite his request to merge the materials with the cases of the other defendants, the court decided to examine 400 of the 422 volumes in separate proceedings.