The Azerbaijani authorities have charged Ruben Vardanyan, the former Minister of State of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

As APA reports, the respective statement by the State Security Service of Azerbaijan reads as follows:

“According to the information, with the collected evidence, grounded suspicions have been established that Vardanyan Ruben Karlenovich, born in 1968, who is currently a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, committed the criminal acts stipulated by Articles 214-1, 279.3, and 318.1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

“According to the indictment brought against him, it was established that Ruben Vardanyan, being a citizen of a foreign country, illegally crossed the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan outside the checkpoints in September 2022 in order to commit acts of terrorism and sabotage, and entered the temporary residence of Russian peacekeepers in the Garabagh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] economic region of the Republic of Azerbaijan. the weapons, ammunition, and explosives of the aforementioned illegal military units that entered the territory where they are located, formed and organized the activities of armed units not provided for by the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as raided offices, organizations and individuals that caused the death of people and other serious consequences participated in the provision of items, military equipment, and military supplies.

“According to the indictment brought against him, it was established that Ruben Vardanyan, being a citizen of a foreign country, illegally crossed the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan outside the checkpoints in September 2022 in order to commit acts of terrorism and sabotage, and entered the temporary residence of Russian peacekeepers in the Garabagh economic region of the Republic of Azerbaijan. the weapons, ammunition, explosives of the aforementioned illegal military units that entered the territory where they are located, formed and organized the activities of armed units not provided for by the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as raided offices, organizations and individuals that caused the death of people and other serious consequences participated in the provision of items, military equipment and military supplies.

“In addition, he financed terrorism by directing the funds to the organization of terrorist activities of those illegal armed groups. Ruben Vardanyan was detained on September 27, 2023 for the illegal acts he committed, brought to criminal responsibility as an accused by the announcement of charges, and a pretrial detention measure was chosen for him by the court's decision. At the moment, investigative and operational measures are being continued in the criminal case.”

Russian Armenian businessman and philanthropist, former Minister of State of Artsakh, Ruben Vardanyan, was detained Wednesday by Azerbaijanis at the Lachin corridor.