BREAKING: Former Artsakh State Minister and Armenian political prisoner Ruben Vardanyan has announced he is going on a hunger strike in protest of his staged trial in Azerbaijan. Vardanyan has been held hostage since his arrest on September 27, 2023, during the forced displacement of Armenians from Artsakh. He faces 42 charges, including terrorism, with a potential life sentence in the sham trial currently taking place in Baku. Though Azerbaijan claims the proceedings are public, only state-controlled media have access.
After a brief phone call, his family conveyed his urgent appeal to the international community as he faces severe legal violations and the denial of basic rights in court.
Vardanyan describes what is happening in the Baku courtroom as a political performance orchestrated against him "solely for exercising my right to free speech and defending the Armenian Christian population of Artsakh."
In his statement, Vardanyan highlights key violations in his sham trial:
• Tried in a military tribunal instead of a civilian court
• Denied full access to case materials—422 volumes in Azerbaijani, classified as state secrets, with only 21 working days for review
• Indictment is unsigned, mistranslated, and legally invalid
• Legal defense obstructed—his lawyer faces restricted access, psychological pressure, and document confiscation; his international legal team is barred from communication and case materials
• No right to call defense witnesses or file complaints on procedural violations
• International observers banned from the courtroom
In his full statement, Vardanyan said:
"This is not just a trial against me. It is an attempt to accuse all Armenians, all those who helped Artsakh and its people, and anyone who showed compassion. It is an attack on an entire nation. I refuse to take part in this farce."
He urged world leaders, human rights defenders, and journalists to intervene:
"The imitation of justice is an endorsement of lawlessness. Silence in the face of such violations fuels hostility and creates new waves of hatred. Only through truth, law, and humanity can peace and justice be ensured in the region."
📸: David Ghahramanyan
After a brief phone call, his family conveyed his urgent appeal to the international community as he faces severe legal violations and the denial of basic rights in court.
Vardanyan describes what is happening in the Baku courtroom as a political performance orchestrated against him "solely for exercising my right to free speech and defending the Armenian Christian population of Artsakh."
In his statement, Vardanyan highlights key violations in his sham trial:
• Tried in a military tribunal instead of a civilian court
• Denied full access to case materials—422 volumes in Azerbaijani, classified as state secrets, with only 21 working days for review
• Indictment is unsigned, mistranslated, and legally invalid
• Legal defense obstructed—his lawyer faces restricted access, psychological pressure, and document confiscation; his international legal team is barred from communication and case materials
• No right to call defense witnesses or file complaints on procedural violations
• International observers banned from the courtroom
In his full statement, Vardanyan said:
"This is not just a trial against me. It is an attempt to accuse all Armenians, all those who helped Artsakh and its people, and anyone who showed compassion. It is an attack on an entire nation. I refuse to take part in this farce."
He urged world leaders, human rights defenders, and journalists to intervene:
"The imitation of justice is an endorsement of lawlessness. Silence in the face of such violations fuels hostility and creates new waves of hatred. Only through truth, law, and humanity can peace and justice be ensured in the region."
📸: David Ghahramanyan
group-telegram.com/TG301AD/13152
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BREAKING: Former Artsakh State Minister and Armenian political prisoner Ruben Vardanyan has announced he is going on a hunger strike in protest of his staged trial in Azerbaijan. Vardanyan has been held hostage since his arrest on September 27, 2023, during the forced displacement of Armenians from Artsakh. He faces 42 charges, including terrorism, with a potential life sentence in the sham trial currently taking place in Baku. Though Azerbaijan claims the proceedings are public, only state-controlled media have access.
After a brief phone call, his family conveyed his urgent appeal to the international community as he faces severe legal violations and the denial of basic rights in court.
Vardanyan describes what is happening in the Baku courtroom as a political performance orchestrated against him "solely for exercising my right to free speech and defending the Armenian Christian population of Artsakh."
In his statement, Vardanyan highlights key violations in his sham trial:
• Tried in a military tribunal instead of a civilian court
• Denied full access to case materials—422 volumes in Azerbaijani, classified as state secrets, with only 21 working days for review
• Indictment is unsigned, mistranslated, and legally invalid
• Legal defense obstructed—his lawyer faces restricted access, psychological pressure, and document confiscation; his international legal team is barred from communication and case materials
• No right to call defense witnesses or file complaints on procedural violations
• International observers banned from the courtroom
In his full statement, Vardanyan said:
"This is not just a trial against me. It is an attempt to accuse all Armenians, all those who helped Artsakh and its people, and anyone who showed compassion. It is an attack on an entire nation. I refuse to take part in this farce."
He urged world leaders, human rights defenders, and journalists to intervene:
"The imitation of justice is an endorsement of lawlessness. Silence in the face of such violations fuels hostility and creates new waves of hatred. Only through truth, law, and humanity can peace and justice be ensured in the region."
📸: David Ghahramanyan
After a brief phone call, his family conveyed his urgent appeal to the international community as he faces severe legal violations and the denial of basic rights in court.
Vardanyan describes what is happening in the Baku courtroom as a political performance orchestrated against him "solely for exercising my right to free speech and defending the Armenian Christian population of Artsakh."
In his statement, Vardanyan highlights key violations in his sham trial:
• Tried in a military tribunal instead of a civilian court
• Denied full access to case materials—422 volumes in Azerbaijani, classified as state secrets, with only 21 working days for review
• Indictment is unsigned, mistranslated, and legally invalid
• Legal defense obstructed—his lawyer faces restricted access, psychological pressure, and document confiscation; his international legal team is barred from communication and case materials
• No right to call defense witnesses or file complaints on procedural violations
• International observers banned from the courtroom
In his full statement, Vardanyan said:
"This is not just a trial against me. It is an attempt to accuse all Armenians, all those who helped Artsakh and its people, and anyone who showed compassion. It is an attack on an entire nation. I refuse to take part in this farce."
He urged world leaders, human rights defenders, and journalists to intervene:
"The imitation of justice is an endorsement of lawlessness. Silence in the face of such violations fuels hostility and creates new waves of hatred. Only through truth, law, and humanity can peace and justice be ensured in the region."
📸: David Ghahramanyan
BY 301🇦🇲
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