There is a terrible but unsurprising development in my client Ruben Vardanyan's political show trial being held at the Baku Military Court in Azerbaijan. Jared Genser, the lawyer of former Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) state minister Ruben Vardanyan who is being held captive in Baku, wrote this on X.

“In yet another secret hearing State Prosecutors have concluded their ‘case’ and have urged Ruben be sentenced to LIFE IN PRISON based on the dozens of bogus charges filed against him. The truth, however, is that Ruben is imprisoned along with the other Armenian Christian prisoners simply for advocating for the right to self determination for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh,” Genser added.