The official indictment and verdict of Ruben Vardanyan, which were publicized on February 17, have been posted on the Free Armenian Prisoners website. Lawyer Siranush Sahakyan, head of the “International and Comparative Law Center” NGO and representative of Armenian prisoners of war before the European Court of Human Rights, told this to a press conference Friday.

“The study of this verdict showed us that numerous unprecedented human rights violations occurred, the entire trial was a farce, its result is not legitimate, and of course, we have presented our legal arguments to the European Court of Human Rights.

Ruben Vardanyan’s case has already been assigned a number and the case will be examined by the European Court; we will also provide details at the appropriate phases.

This verdict is also a benchmark, where not only legal norms, moral norms, but also the boundaries of human common sense and intelligence are violated. The facts and so-called ‘evidence’ found there and the conclusions drawn based on them simply do not fit into the realm of sound human judgment, common sense, reason.

It is very important to us that professional communities, academics, students study and be able to form an independent, unaided view of that trial and its resulting verdict,” Sahakyan said.

According to her, Ruben Vardanyan has been charged in Azerbaijan with dozens of acts and accusations, including aggression and causing human destruction and casualties.

Ruben Vardanyan had assumed the position of State Minister in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) on November 4, 2022, had no participation, presence, moreover, he did not have any command authority over either the Armenian armed forces or the Artsakh army, and was not involved in any decision-making chain. However, an incident was considered confirmed, the corroborating “evidence” was the testimony of a victim, who had never seen Vardanyan. He had only testified that he had suffered injuries as a result of an attack.

“Ruben Vardanyan has implemented various charitable programs, has been actively involved in social programs, and these episodes have also been qualified as criminal activities. For example, schools, kindergartens were renovated, or Ruben Vardanyan financed a big wedding in Artsakh, being the godfather of this wedding itself has again been qualified as criminal activities,” Siranush Sahakyan emphasized.

She added that the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative—a global nonprofit—has also been qualified as a criminal activity by the Baku court, and within the framework of the initiative, the laureates have been perceived as members of a criminal organization.

“In addition, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic [(NKR)], with all its subdivisions, has been perceived [by Azerbaijan] as an illegal, prohibited militarized, armed group, and any relationship with the NKR has been qualified as participation in a criminal organization.

The Azerbaijani side has also carried out a casualty count using a methodology unknown to us. And according to them, more than 18,000 residents have been killed within the framework of the Artsakh conflict. And it is stated that since Ruben Vardanyan joined that ‘criminal organization’ in 2022 in the form of holding an office, then Ruben Vardanyan is the one responsible for all human lives. That is, what human casualties there were, what episodes of missing persons there are within the framework of the conflict, Ruben Vardanyan himself must bear personal responsibility for it.

The assumption of office itself was also assessed as a usurpation of power, a violation of the constitution of Azerbaijan, and the assumption of office was presented as the usurpation of the sovereign power of Azerbaijan by Ruben Vardanyan and the latter exercised power in Azerbaijan from November 2022 to February 2023, "said Siranush Sahakyan.