Amnesty International: Ruben Vardanyan’s 20-year prison term in Azerbaijan culminates “travesty” of a trial against ethnic Armenian leaders
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Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Marie Struthers has described the conviction of Ruben Vardanyan and other Armenians in Azerbaijan as a “travesty.”
In a statement released by Amnesty International, Marie Struthers said that Azerbaijan must comply with its obligations under international human rights law.
She said that these convictions constitute an "affront to all victims of crimes under international law."
Below is the full statement:
“The conviction of the 16 defendants, culminating in this sentence against Ruben Vardanyan, is nothing short of a travesty. The fact that Ruben Vardanyan and the others, several civilians like himself, were tried before a military court in itself raises serious concerns and is incompatible with fair trial guarantees. While victims of the decades-long conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh in both Armenia and Azerbaijan deserve truth, justice, reparations and assurances of non-repetition, these convictions constitute an affront to all victims of crimes under international law. Accused of a plethora of extremely serious crimes, Ruben Vardanyan and other defendants were tried in an effectively closed hearing, based on ‘evidence’ in a language they could not understand and that was not adequately translated. Even the charges – over 40 against Vardanyan alone – including “terrorism” and “crimes against humanity” were not fully publicly disclosed during proceedings. Amnesty International requested information from the Azerbaijani authorities about the trial and the evidence but received no response. Azerbaijan must comply with its obligations under international human rights law and ensure that all those accused of crimes are tried in full compliance with international law and fair trial standards.”
An Azerbaijani military court on Tuesday sentenced former Nagorno-Karabakh State Minister and philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan to 20 years in prison on war crimes and terror-related charges, which he had denounced as a “farce” and which are widely seen as part of a sham trial. Vardanyan’s legal team rejected the ruling, calling it unfounded and illegal.
An Azerbaijani military court had earlier sentenced several former top political and military leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh to life imprisonment on war crime–related charges that are widely regarded as fabricated.
Former Nagorno-Karabakh President Arayik Harutyunyan, former Defense Army commander Levon Mnatsakanyan and his deputy Davit Manukyan, former Foreign Minister Davit Babayan, and former Speaker of Parliament Davit Ishkanyan were all sentenced to life imprisonment.
Former Presidents Bako Sahakyan and Arkady Ghukasyan received 20-year prison terms because, being over the age of 65, Azerbaijani law prohibits life imprisonment for individuals of that age.
Vardanyan’s trial was conducted separately. The Armenian prisoners are among the 19 still held after the mass exodus of Nagorno-Karabakh’s population to Armenia in September 2023 during the Azerbaijani offensive.