Ruben Vardanyan declared a hunger strike on February 19, citing violations of international and Azerbaijani procedural law. Specifically, according to the businessman, he has not received full access to the case materials and evidence. His lawyer also cannot fully familiarize himself with the case materials, and the international legal team is not allowed to communicate with him.
«My demands are the same. If you judge, judge professionally, publicly, openly, according to the laws and procedures of Azerbaijan with everyone. In the presence of international journalists, observers, since you are so confident in your rightness. Remove my artificially separated case. Why did you separate my case when all my accusations are based on the claim that I am a member of a criminally organized group, which I allegedly joined in 1987?
Do not violate your own laws and procedures. Do not falsify documents, do not manipulate documents and protocols. After all, you have everything—all my gadgets, all my documents are completely open. Do not turn the court into a mock trial, an imitation, a show. If you are going to judge, judge correctly», he stated in an address conveyed through relatives.
In January, Vardanyan reported that his criminal case contains protocols of non-existent interrogations, as he has not given any testimony since the first day of his arrest.
Vardanyan headed the government of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic from November 2022 to February 2023. In September 2023, Azerbaijan announced that it conducted «local anti-terrorist measures» in Nagorno-Karabakh, as a result of which the republic ceased to exist. At the end of September 2023, Vardanyan was detained by Azerbaijani special services while attempting to leave Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia. In Baku, he was charged with financing terrorism, participating in the creation of armed formations, and illegal border crossing.
According to the support group, the investigation is based on the testimony of a «witness» who claims that Vardanyan created «mercenary squads of 45-50-year-old people» in Artsakh. However, his identity is not disclosed.
On February 26, the Vardanyan family lawyer Jared Genser reported that the philanthropist's condition had sharply deteriorated almost a week after he declared a hunger strike. According to him, in a week of hunger strike, Vardanyan lost 6 kg of weight, his pulse increased, and his blood pressure rose. Despite the deterioration of his condition, the judicial panel rejected the lawyers' request to postpone the hearings, stating that Vardanyan must attend the sessions since he can sit during them, Genser reported.
On March 3, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated that ethnic Armenians detained in Azerbaijan should be immediately released, and their rights to a fair trial must be fully respected. The European Parliament is expected to approve a resolution on the situation with Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan on March 13.
Ruben Vardanyan is the former head of the investment company «Troika Dialog» and the first president of the Moscow School of Management «Skolkovo».
Photo: Facebook of Aida Vardanyan