Jan27, 2025
The illegal and fabricated trial against the former military-political leadership of Nagorno-Karabakh continued at the Baku Military Court on January 27.
According to Azerbaijani media, the second session of the trial against former Nagorno-Karabakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan also started on January 27, separately from the trials of former Nagorno-Karabakh President Arayik Harutyunyan and other officials.
During an interview aired on Public Television on January 25, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that Armenia has intelligence data indicating that the Azerbaijani authorities are using banned psychoactive methods against Armenian prisoners to extort narratives or testimonies aimed at inciting regional escalation.
Published at armenpress.am
Azeri-Armenian Ties Escalate Amid Trial of Ex-Head of Breakaway Territory
Jan 29, 2025
Ruben Vardanyan earlier argued that the protocols in his case had been falsified and that he had not been given the “opportunity to read the official indictment.”
The case of Armenian businessman and philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan is politically motivated as there is no criminal offense against him, Russian journalist and rights activist Eva Merkacheva says. She also points out that:
- Vardanyan’s trial is, in fact, the trial of the Armenian people.
- The Azerbaijani side persistently tries to link Vardanyan to combatants of the Karabakh war despite the fact that he is a civilian and was not involved in hostilities on the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
- Unlike official Yerevan discourse, Vardanyan has repeatedly called for close cooperation between Russia and Armenia.
- He was one of the few who understood the importance of Russian peacekeepers’ presence in the conflict zone.
The trial of former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh, including Vardanyan, is currently underway in Azerbaijan, where they are accused of committing war crimes. They were detained while trying to enter the country in September 2023.
Continue reading at sputnikglobe.com
Ruben Vardanyan’s Lawyer Chides Armenian Government
Jan 30, 2025
A US human rights lawyer representing Ruben Vardanyan has said that the Armenian government is doing little to try to secure the release of his client and seven other former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh standing trial in Azerbaijan.
In an interview with the Armenian Report published on Thursday, January 23, Jared Genser pointed to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s public statements on these and other Armenian prisoners whom he described as “hostages.”
“It doesn’t seem from what I’ve heard that bringing Ruben or others home is an especially high priority [for Pashinyan’s government,]” he said. “That’s obviously frustrating and disappointing… because Ruben and the others are simply Armenian citizens. It’s the job of a government to help their citizens abroad when they are in harm’s way. In this particular case… there is no one but the government of Armenia to actually stand up for them and assist them.”
Continue reading at mirrorspectator.com
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