Ruben Vardanyan claims that his testimony was falsified by the Azerbaijani authorities
A protest action was held in Yerevan in front of the UN office and the Armenian government demanding that pressure be put on Azerbaijan to release the Armenian defendants. Today, the trial of former State Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh Ruben Vardanyan and other leaders of the unrecognized republic begins in Baku.
Former Russian citizen, major businessman, billionaire Ruben Vardanyan made a statement from the Baku pretrial detention center before the trial.
“They pressured me, my lawyer, and the translator to sign documents retroactively, including falsified protocols of failed interrogations. I have not given any testimony since the first day of my arrest, with the exception of the first interrogation, when I only gave my first and last name. All protocols with my signature are falsifications. Only a real court, not a trial, will help take a step forward on the difficult path of building new relations between our peoples. Real peace will only be possible when the leaders of the countries involved in the conflict, with the approval of the majority in their societies, can lay flowers together on the graves of all those killed in the Karabakh war,” Vardanyan said. Ruben Vardanyan will be tried for mercenarism, financing terrorism, attempting to seize power, and other criminal charges. He could face life imprisonment. The former state minister was detained by Azerbaijani security forces on September 27, 2023, while attempting to leave Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia. He was transferred to Baku and charged the same day.
