Baku Court Rejects Ruben Vardanyan’s Motion to Question Pashinyan

The recent hearings in Baku against philanthropist and former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan reveal once again how Azerbaijan uses its courts not for justice, but for political revenge. For more than two years, Vardanyan has been kept in Baku’s prisons under fabricated charges, ranging from terrorism to mass killings, even though he never held any military position and served in Artsakh’s government for only three months.

At the most recent session, Vardanyan requested that Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, and representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross be questioned. This was a reasonable request, since these figures have all been connected to the international negotiations and humanitarian issues related to Artsakh. However, the Baku military court, following the demand of Deputy Prosecutor General Vusal Aliyev, quickly rejected his motion. The excuse was that these individuals were “not connected to the charges.”

Azerbaijan never intended to allow such voices into the courtroom. If international officials or Armenia’s leadership were questioned, the baseless nature of Baku’s case would collapse. That is why Azerbaijan relies only on its state-run media, “AzerTac,” to control the narrative, keeping independent and foreign observers out of the trial.

Vardanyan also reminded the court that he is not a serviceman, and therefore should not be tried in a military court. This is a basic legal fact: he has no military background and should be considered a civilian. Yet again, Aliyev dismissed the motion, insisting that because of “war crimes charges,” the military court had jurisdiction. Such reasoning is nothing more than political manipulation, designed to punish a prominent Armenian figure who dared to stand with Artsakh’s people.

The charges continue to grow. At the latest hearing, Vardanyan rejected yet another accusation—that he had illegally crossed the border. In response, he requested testimony from Russian peacekeeping commanders who were stationed in Karabakh at the time. Once more, the presiding judge, Zeynal Aghayev, refused. The pattern is clear: any witness who could prove Vardanyan’s innocence is automatically excluded.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan uses the courtroom as a stage for propaganda. “Victims” are brought in to testify about weapons, injuries, and casualties, with their words carefully filtered and publicized only by state media. Even though “AzerTac” reported that Vardanyan questioned them, none of his questions were published. His defense is silenced, while Azerbaijan presents only one side of the story.

This so-called trial has been going on for eight months, but it is not a search for truth. It is a punishment. Vardanyan is charged under more than forty different articles—an impossible list designed to make acquittal out of reach. The goal is not justice; the goal is to break him and to send a message to Armenians everywhere: if you defend Artsakh, Azerbaijan will try to erase you.

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