By Alexander Pracht
Ruben Vardanyan, a jailed Armenian billionaire and former head of the Nagorno-Karabakh cabinet, has refused the services of a lawyer appointed by Azerbaijani authorities during his trial in Baku, a former Armenian lawmaker reported on Tuesday.
“Ruben Vardanyan has refused the services of an Armenophobic lawyer. He did the right thing as [by doing so] he is undermining this ‘judicial’ farce that is directed against Armenia,” Tatevik Hayrapetyan wrote in a social media post, without disclosing her sources.
Azerbaijan has so far not commented on the matter.
The appointed lawyer, Emil Babishov, was assigned to Vardanyan after he dismissed his previous attorney, local lawyer Avram Berman, last month, citing a lack of objectivity and fairness in the trial as well as the inability to prepare an adequate defense. At the time, Vardanyan said he would not object to being represented by a state-appointed lawyer.
Vardanyan, who briefly served as the head of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic cabinet, has been in custody since October 2023, following his arrest by Azerbaijani authorities. Azerbaijani prosecutors have charged him under more than two dozen articles of the criminal code, including crimes against peace and humanity, terrorism, financing terrorism, and attempted murder, which he denies as politically motivated.
Several other senior officials of the now-defunct Karabakh Republic, including three former presidents, are also on trial in Baku. A total of 23 Armenians are currently jailed in the country, among them prisoners of war from the 2020 conflict and several civilians.