Azernews.Az

The trial of Armenian citizen Ruben Vardanyan, accused under various articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan—including crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes, terrorism, and other serious offenses—resumed on June 10.

Azernews reports that the open court session at the Baku Military Court, presided over by Judge Zeynal Agayev with judges Anar Rzayev and Jamal Ramazanov (reserve judge Gunel Samedova), ensured that the accused was provided with interpretation in Russian (his preferred language) and legal defense by a lawyer of his choice.

Before the witness testimonies, Judge Agayev explained the rights and obligations of the victims appearing for the first time.

At the start of the session, Ruben Vardanyan once again petitioned the court to provide a copy of the indictment to his family and requested that his previous motions be reviewed. His lawyer, Avraam Berman, supported these requests.

Judge Agayev stated that the court had already ruled on these motions in previous sessions, and therefore they would not be revisited.

Vardanyan then submitted another motion requesting an expert review to verify the consistency between the Azerbaijani and Russian versions of the indictment.

Nasir Bayramov, head of a department in the Prosecutor General's Office, argued that the accused had repeatedly submitted motions with identical content and that the latest motion should not be subject to discussion.

The court adjourned to deliberate and subsequently rejected the motion.

Victim testimonies followed:

• Several victims and legal successors described the deaths and injuries of their sons and relatives due to gunfire, artillery, or drone attacks allegedly carried out by remnants of the Armenian army and illegal Armenian armed groups in Kalbajar, Aghdam, Khojali, and other regions.

• Victims reported injuries from sniper fire, grenade and mortar explosions, artillery shelling, and drone attacks.

• Testimonies also revealed that some individuals were killed during these attacks, including civilians and soldiers.

The court also presented medical expert reports on the injuries sustained by the victims.

The next hearing is scheduled for June 17.

Ruben Vardanyan is charged under the following articles of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code:

• Articles on planning and conducting aggressive war, deportation, persecution, enforced disappearances, unlawful imprisonment, torture, mercenarism, violations of the laws and customs of war, deliberate murder and attempted murder, illegal entrepreneurship, terrorism and its financing, creating criminal organizations, illegal possession and trafficking of weapons and explosives, aviation-related offenses, attempts to seize power by force, creating unauthorized armed groups, and illegal border crossing.