Baku, March 11, AZERTAC

Court hearings on the criminal case against Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian citizen charged with torture, mercenary activity, violation of the laws and customs of warfare, terrorism, financing terrorism, and other offenses under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, continued on March 11.

The open hearings were held at the Baku Military Court and presided over by Judge Zeynal Aghayev and a panel of judges consisting of Anar Rzayev and Jamal Ramazanov (reserve judge Gunel Samadova). The accused was provided with an interpreter in the language of his choice, i.e. Russian, as well as lawyers for his defense.

At the beginning of the hearings, judge Zeynal Aghayev explained the rights and obligations to the victims who were participating in this trial for the first time.

Then the accused Ruben Vardanyan expressed his objection to the panel of judges hearing the case, noting that some of his earlier motions from previous hearings had not been granted.

The Senior Assistant to the Prosecutor General, Vusal Aliyev, who defends public prosecution in the case, noted in his commentary on the motion that a petition of the same content had been considered in previous court hearings and that a corresponding decision had been made. He also reiterated the requirements in the criminal procedure legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan regarding the specification of particular circumstances for objections to the judge and the necessity of substantiating such objections. Ruben Vardanyan's justification of his objection is not in line with the circumstances established by the legislation and is based on the premise that his earlier petitions were not granted, which cannot represent a basis for granting a petition under criminal procedure legislation. Taking all this into account, the prosecutor asked the court to leave the latest motion unconsidered.

The victims participating in the court hearings said they agreed with the position of the prosecution.

Presiding judge Zeynal Aghayev noted that the accused had been raising an objection to the panel of judges on the same grounds for the fourth time, that each of the circumstances he had indicated earlier had been considered in detail and that a corresponding decision had been made, but since no new evidence had been presented or substantiated in the current proceedings, he was not granting the objection.

Then public prosecutor Tarana Mammadova asked the accused questions about the mining of the previously occupied sovereign territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the process of transporting weapons there from various places, including Armenia, their acquisition, the manner in which the financial resources intended for this were generated, the participation, support, approval and permission of the Armenian state, its leadership and high-ranking officials in that process, as well as the relations between volunteers and mercenaries and the Armenian army deployed on the sovereign territories of Azerbaijan and Armenia proper.

The accused refused to answer the questions.

Then witnesses in the case were questioned. Before the questioning began, presiding judge Zeynal Aghayev explained to the witnesses their rights and obligations stipulated by law, including the duty to tell only the truth.

Witness Kamo Eduardovich Hayrapetyan, an ethnic Armenian living in Karabakh, said in his statement that Ruben Vardanyan had come to Khankendi some time after the 44-day war.

He said that Ruben Vardanyan was sponsoring and financing groups of people aged 45-50 to fight against Azerbaijan. “A lot of young people had joined those groups. What was interesting to me was why Ruben Vardanyan, a world-renowned businessman and oligarch – I am not saying he is my enemy, not at all – left his business and decided to come to Karabakh?”

The witness went on to say that after Ruben Vardanyan had arrived in Khankendi, mining operations were carried out with his finances on the borders of the territories Azerbaijan regained in the 44-day war. He noted that the mines had been brought to Karabakh from Armenia via the Lachin road. “The Armenians living in Khankendi were also aware that mining operations in Karabakh had gained momentum after Ruben Vardanyan came there. Information posters about these mines were placed in schools, around buildings, in forests and empty areas. However, there were no posters about mines before the 44-day war,” the witness added.

He said that using Ruben Vardanyan’s funds, a total of three military warehouses were created, including two around Khankendi and one in Asgaran. The road to these warehouses was guarded by armed personnel. The Armenian army and selected military personnel from Karabakh were deployed in those warehouses. A large quantity of weaponry and ammunition, as well as unmanned quadcopters and other unmanned aerial vehicles Ruben had brought to Karabakh, was stored in the warehouses. Many people in Khankendi were aware of this, because Ruben Vardanyan promoted the idea that all Armenian residents should arm themselves and fight against Azerbaijanis. Ruben Vardanyan’s goal in creating these armed groups was to fight against Azerbaijan.

According to the witness, before Ruben Vardanyan had appeared in Karabakh, the issue of integration into Azerbaijan had been gaining ground among Armenian residents and people were seeking to establish a contact with Azerbaijan. Many were seriously thinking about living within Azerbaijan and obtaining citizenship.

The witness said that Ruben Vardanyan had come to the city of Khankendi in 2022-2023 and launched a propaganda campaign against Azerbaijan there. He said, “After Ruben Vardanyan’s arrival, hostility towards Azerbaijan among the Armenian residents intensified. Ruben Vardanyan tried to make Armenian residents hate Azerbaijanis.”

Then another witness of Armenian origin, Musheg Gurgenovich Grigoryan, made a statement.

The witness said that after Ruben Vardanyan had been appointed to a position in the self-styled entity in Karabakh, he set about gathering groups of mercenary fighters. Later, these individuals were recruited for military training in a camp located in Khojaly district. “He studied the specialties of those who had just completed their military service and recruited the most suitable of them for these groups. He arranged for soldiers with military experience, mainly in the field of radio engineering field, to join his mercenary groups. For this purpose, he set up a military training camp in a mountainous and forested area by the river, which was previously part of the Sports Tourism Federation near Badara village of Khojaly district, and organized military training mainly for young people, students and high school students who had just completed their military service. I don't understand Vardanyan. If you want to do good for your people, why do you buy weapons, plant mines, give people money and open camps? If weapons are a good thing, then buy them and take them home, so that your children can fight as well. Vardanyan thought that he was doing good for the people of Karabakh, but he actually destroyed their fates,” the witness said.

The statements of the witnesses given during the preliminary investigation at the State Security Service were read aloud at the hearing. They confirmed their statements given at the stage of preliminary investigation.

Then it was the victims who made statements. Victim Sayyad Alakbarli said that he knew about Ruben Vardanyan from the media. He said he had been injured after stepping on a landmine brought from Armenia and planted in the sovereign territories of Azerbaijan. He said that the incident had occurred in August 2023 while he was engaged in agricultural work in Khojaly.

Victims Jalal Guliyev, Ravan Aghazada, Nariman Abishli, Elbrus Azimli, Elmaddin Aghayev, Faig Azizov, Sakhavat Ismayil, Ismayil Huseynov and Ibrahim Hamidli said that they had all been injured during military service in Kalbajar.

Each of the victims asked the court to impose the most severe punishment on the accused Ruben Vardanyan.

The next court hearing is scheduled for March 18.

We recall that Ruben Vardanyan is charged with crimes under Articles 100.1, 100.2 (planning, preparing, initiating and waging a war of aggression), 107 (deportation and forced displacement of the population), 109 (persecution), 110 (forcible disappearance of persons), 112 (deprivation of liberty contrary to international law), 113 (torture), 114.1 (mercenary activity), 115.2 (violation of the laws and customs of warfare), 116.0.1, 116.0.2, 116.0.10, 116.0.11, 116.0.16, 116.0.18 (violation of international humanitarian law during armed conflict), 120.2.1, 120.2.3, 120.2.4, 120.2.7, 120.2.11, 120.2.12 (intentional murder), 29,120.2.1, 29,120.2.3, 29,120.2.4, 29,120.2.7, 29,120.2.11, 29,120.2.12 (attempted intentional murder), 192.3.1 (illegal entrepreneurship), 214.2.1, 214.2.3, 214.2.4 (terrorism), 214-1 (financing of terrorism), 218.1, 218.2 (creation of a criminal group), 228.3 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation and possession of firearms, their components, ammunition, explosives and devices), 270-1.2, 270-1.4 (acts threatening aviation safety), 278.1 (forcible seizure or retention of power, forcible change of the constitutional structure of the state), 279.1, 279.2, 279.3 (creation of armed formations or groups not provided for by law) and 318.2 (illegal crossing of the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan).