Baku: The court proceedings in the criminal case against Ruben Vardanyan, a citizen of Armenia, concluded with a verdict at the Baku Military Court. Vardanyan faced numerous charges under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, including crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes, and terrorism.
According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, the open court hearing was presided over by Judge Zeynal Aghayev, along with Judges Anar Rzayev and Jamal Ramazanov, with reserve judge Gunel Samadova. The accused was provided with Russian interpretation and a state-appointed defense counsel. The session included participation from the accused’s defense, victims and their representatives, state prosecutors, and Rufat Mammadov, representing the Republic of Azerbaijan as a victim.
The trial, which commenced on January 17 of the previous year, ended with the court declaring Ruben Karlenovich Vardanyan guilty of multiple offenses as per the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan. His offenses included planning and waging aggressive war, deportation, persecution, enforced disappearance, unlawful deprivation of liberty, torture, mercenarism, and violations of international humanitarian law during armed conflict, among others.
The court sentenced Vardanyan to 20 years of imprisonment, with the first decade to be served in prison and the remainder in a strict-regime correctional facility. Notably, prosecutors had initially sought a life imprisonment sentence for the accused.
Vardanyan was found guilty under numerous articles of the Criminal Code, including Articles 100.1 and 100.2 for aggression-related offenses, Article 107 for deportation, Article 113 for torture, and several others related to murder, terrorism, illegal entrepreneurship, and the creation of illegal armed formations.