19 February 2025

(Reuters) – Ruben Vardanyan, a former top official in the ethnic Armenian administration of Nagorno-Karabakh which Azerbaijan retook in 2023, announced a second hunger strike on Wednesday in protest against his criminal trial in Baku.

“Today, I have decided to protest by declaring a hunger strike against the judicial farce being carried out against me,” Vardanyan said in a statement via his lawyers.

The 56-year-old billionaire banker was arrested by Azerbaijani forces in September 2023, along with several other senior Karabakh officials while attempting to cross into Armenia amid a mass exodus of the region’s roughly 100,000 ethnic Armenians after Azerbaijan captured the territory in a lightning offensive.

Vardanyan, who served in the number-two position in Karabakh in 2022-2023, is currently on trial in Baku, where he faces life in prison for 42 charges including terrorism. Another 15 former officials as well as civilian and military figures are on trial separately.

Vardanyan has filed multiple petitions to the Baku court, saying he and his local lawyer had not been given enough time to review the indictment against him, and that the 422 volumes of evidence had been presented in Azeri, a language he does not speak.

Azerbaijan says the trial is open to the public, but Vardanyan’s lawyers say only state media are allowed in. A Reuters reporter was denied access to the courtroom on the first day of the trial on January 17.

Vardanyan’s son David said he spoke with his father on Tuesday by phone. David Vardanyan said his father had told him that he had launched the hunger strike because he had “run out of any other means to draw attention (to his case).”

“We hope that it will end soon,” David Vardanyan told Reuters. “There’s obviously a huge risk to his health.”

Vardanyan, who went on a 20-day hunger strike last April, has previously complained of mistreatment in Baku’s custody. Azerbaijan’s prosecutor general has said his rights were being respected and he had received visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

(Reporting and writing by Lucy Papachristou, Editing by William Maclean)

Armenian Political Prisoner Ruben Vardanyan Begins Hunger Strike to Protest Rigged Trial in Azerbaijan

Baku, February 19, 2025 – Armenian businessman, philanthropist, and now political prisoner Ruben Vardanyan told his family that he will no longer cooperate in the ongoing sham trial against him and other Armenian prisoners due to Azerbaijan’s persistent violations of international law during his trial and, in protest of these violations, will go on a hunger strike. After more than 500 days in arbitrary and illegal detention, Vardanyan aims to draw international attention to the illegitimate and politically driven judicial process against him and other Armenian prisoners after the ethnic cleansing of over 120 thousand Christian Armenians.

In his official statement, Ruben Vardanyan explains the reasons behind his refusal to participate in the proceedings and hunger strike:

“Yesterday, I decided to protest by declaring a hunger strike against the judicial farce being carried out against me. This is my response to the blatant violations of Azerbaijani procedural law and international law. What is happening in the courtroom cannot be called a trial—this is a political show, in which my right to a fair hearing is being deliberately disregarded.

For the past month, my local lawyer—Avraam Berman—and I have tried to make it clear to the court that it is critical for me that this so-called ‘trial’ be objective rather than a staged performance. Sadly, it has been clear from the beginning that this case is all about persecuting me as an Armenian simply for exercising my rights to freedom of opinion and expression and political participation under international law,, which have been aimed at protecting the rights of the Armenian-Christian population of Artsakh.

Despite Azerbaijan being a State Party to the European Convention on Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, this process has also been replete with egregious due process abuses:

I am being tried in an illegal military tribunal and not a civilian court.
I have not been granted full access to the indictment and so-called ‘evidence’ against me – 422 volumes in Azerbaijani, for which I was given only 21 working days to review, which have been classified as ‘state secrets.’
The ‘indictment’ presented to me is not an official document, as it lacks the signatures of my accusers. Even the translation of this so-called document contains gross errors, making it impossible for me to understand the charges against me.
I have been denied my right to defense – my local lawyer, Avraam Berman, has had his access to materials restricted, his documents confiscated, and he has been subjected to psychological pressure. Further, my international legal team has been barred from communicating or visiting me and has not had access to any of the case materials
I have not been allowed to summon defense witnesses or file complaints regarding the violations committed during the investigation and trial.
All of the hearings have been secret and closed to the public. Foreign journalists and independent international representatives have been barred from the courtroom.

This so-called ‘trial’ is not just against me. It is an attempt to criminalize all Armenians – all those who supported and demonstrated compassion toward Artsakh and its people, all those who showed compassion. This is an attack on an entire nation. I refuse to participate in this farce.

I appeal to world leaders, international organizations, human rights defenders, and members of the press: This process demands your attention. The imitation of justice is an endorsement of lawlessness and injustice. Silence in the face of such violations paves the way for future tragedies, fueling hostility and a new wave of hatred. Only through truth, law, and humanity can peace and justice be ensured in the region.”

“Ruben’s so-called trial is nothing but a political spectacle. He has been denied access to critical case materials, blocked from mounting a proper legal defense, and subjected to egregious due process abuses in flagrant violation of international law,” said Vardanyan’s international legal counsel, Jared Genser.

For further information, please contact: press.vardanyan@havas.com or freearmenianprisoners@edelman.com

Ruben Vardanyan begins hunger strike, denounces judicial farce in Azerbaijan

By Lia Avagyan

Ruben Vardanyan, the former state minister of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), has declared a hunger strike to protest what he describes as a “judicial farce” being conducted against him in Azerbaijan. He conveyed this message in a brief phone call with his family.

“Yesterday, I decided to protest by declaring a hunger strike against the judicial farce being carried out against me. This is my response to the blatant violations of Azerbaijani procedural law and international law,” Vardanyan stated in his message to the international community.

Vardanyan, who was detained after Azerbaijan’s military aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023, detailed numerous violations of his legal rights. He is currently being tried in a military tribunal rather than a civilian court, with severely restricted access to case materials comprising 422 volumes in Azerbaijani, which were classified as “state secrets” and given only 21 working days for review.

Vardanyan’s local lawyer, Avraam Berman, has faced significant obstacles, including restricted access to materials, document confiscation, and alleged psychological pressure. His international legal team has been completely barred from communication and denied access to case materials.

“This so-called ‘trial’ is not just against me. It is an attempt to criminalize all Armenians – all those who supported and demonstrated compassion toward Artsakh and its people,” Vardanyan emphasized. The proceedings have been conducted secretly, with foreign journalists and independent international observers barred from the courtroom.

Despite Azerbaijan being a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Vardanyan alleges that the indictment lacks proper signatures and contains translation errors that impede his understanding of the charges. He has been denied the right to summon defense witnesses or file complaints about violations during the investigation and trial.

In his appeal to world leaders, international organizations, and human rights defenders, Vardanyan warned that “silence in the face of such violations paves the way for future tragedies, fueling hostility and a new wave of hatred.” He concluded that “only through truth, law, and humanity can peace and justice be ensured in the region.”

The case continues to highlight the challenges of achieving justice and reconciliation in the aftermath of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, with potential implications for Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and regional stability in the South Caucasus.

Following Azerbaijan’s military offensive in September 2023, several former leaders of Artsakh were detained by Azerbaijani authorities as they attempted to leave the region alongside tens of thousands of displaced Armenians. Among them were former presidents Arayik Harutyunyan, Bako Sahakyan, and Arkadi Ghukasyan, as well as former state minister Ruben Vardanyan, parliament speaker Davit Ishkhanyan, and other high-ranking officials. They are charged with various offenses under Azerbaijani law, including terrorism and separatism.

Human rights organizations and Armenian officials have condemned the arrests, calling for international intervention to ensure their fair treatment and release.

CivilNet

Ruben Vardanyan’s message about his hunger strike

February 19, 2025

The family of Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian political prisoner, has conveyed his message to the international community after a brief phone call, in protest against the staged “judicial” process against him.

The message reads as follows:

“Yesterday, I have decided to protest by declaring a hunger strike against the judicial farce being carried out against me. This is my response to the blatant violations of Azerbaijani procedural law and international law. What is happening in the courtroom cannot be called a trial – this is a political show, in which my right to a fair hearing is being deliberately disregarded.

For the past month, my local lawyer – Avraam Berman, and I have tried to make it clear to the court that it is critical for me that this so-called “trial” be objective rather than a staged performance. Sadly, it has been clear from the beginning that this case is all about persecuting me as an Armenian simply for exercising my rights to freedom of opinion and expression and political participation under international law, which have been aimed at protecting the rights of the Armenian-Christian population of Artsakh.

1. I am being tried in an illegal military tribunal and not a civilian court.

2. I have not been granted full access to the indictment and so-called “evidence” against me – 422 volumes in Azerbaijani, for which I was given only 21 working days to review, which have been classified as “state secrets.”

3. The “indictment” presented to me is not an official document, as it lacks the signatures of my accusers. Even the translation of this so-called document contains gross errors, making it impossible for me to understand the charges against me.

4. I have been denied my right to defense – my local lawyer, Avraam Berman, has had his access to materials restricted, his documents confiscated, and he has been subjected to psychological pressure. Further, my international legal team has been barred from communicating or visiting me and has not had access to any of the case materials.

5. I have not been allowed to summon defense witnesses or file complaints regarding the violations committed during the investigation and trial.

6. All of the hearings have been secret and closed to the public. Foreign journalists and independent international representatives have been barred from the courtroom.

Armenpress