The former head of the Nagorno-Karabakh government, former Russian citizen, and billionaire Ruben Vardanyan has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. The sentence was handed down by the Baku Military Court.

Vardanyan was detained by Azerbaijani security forces on September 27, 2023, while attempting to cross the border into Armenia. He is accused of a number of crimes, including mercenarism, financing terrorism, and attempting to seize power. While in pretrial detention, he went on a hunger strike.

Ruben Vardanyan's family called the verdict "expected."

"Since Ruben was detained without any grounds 874 days ago, it has become clear that the outcome of this trial is predetermined. Throughout his detention, no evidence has been presented for any of the charges brought against him. "The hearings were held behind closed doors and under conditions incompatible with fair trial standards, not only under international law but even under Azerbaijani law," the defendant's family said.

As a reminder, on February 5, the Baku Military Court issued verdicts in the cases of other former military-political leaders of Karabakh. According to the court's ruling, former President of Karabakh Arayik Harutyunyan, Deputy Commander of the Defense Army David Manukyan, former Speaker of Parliament David Ishkhanyan, and former Foreign Minister David Babayan were sentenced to life imprisonment. In addition, other former presidents—Arkady Ghukasyan and Bako Sahakyan—were sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Recently, in an interview with France 24, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated that pardoning the convicted Armenian leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh is impossible. As a reminder, in September 2023, Azerbaijan conducted a military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh, after which the authorities of the unrecognized republic announced the dissolution of their state institutions.