A court hearing scheduled for 30 December in the criminal case against Armenian citizen Ruben Vardanyan has been postponed for an indefinite period, Azerbaijan’s judicial authorities have said.
According to the statement, the delay stems from the fact that the panel of judges assigned to Vardanyan’s case is currently in deliberations on a separate high-profile trial involving 15 Armenian nationals. The panel is chaired by judge Zeynal Agayev and includes judges Anar Rzayev and Jamal Ramazanov, with Gunel Samedova serving as a reserve judge.
The court indicated that the next hearing in Vardanyan’s case will be scheduled once the judges return from those deliberations, without specifying a new date or timeframe. That leaves the proceedings in limbo for now, with the defence and observers waiting to see when the trial will resume.
Vardanyan faces a wide range of charges under Azerbaijan’s Criminal Code, including crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes, terrorism and terrorism financing. The indictment also cites planning and waging an aggressive war, deportation and forcible transfer of civilians, persecution, enforced disappearances, unlawful deprivation of liberty, torture and mercenarism.
Prosecutors further accuse him of violating the laws and customs of war and breaching international humanitarian law during armed conflict, as well as multiple counts of premeditated murder and attempted murder. Economic and security-related accusations are also included, such as illegal entrepreneurship, creating and financing terrorist activities, forming criminal and armed groups not provided for by law, illegal possession and trafficking of weapons and explosives, acts posing threats to aviation security, attempts to seize or retain power by force and illegal crossing of the state border.
Vardanyan has denied wrongdoing. His defence team has previously described the array of allegations as politically motivated, arguing that the case is driven by broader tensions rather than by evidence of individual criminal responsibility.
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Ruben Vardanyan has been sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Baku Military Court after being found guilty of a series of offences including war crimes, terrorism and crimes against humanity.
The name Ruben Vardanyan has become a focal point of international headlines following his high-profile arrest by Azerbaijani authorities in late 2023. He has many titles, billionaire, philanthropist, and formerly so-called State Minister of the unrecognised Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh.
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