Preliminary court hearing held for Ruben Vardanyan's trial

A preliminary court hearing was held for the trial of Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian citizen who is accused of torture, mercenary activities, violation of laws and customs of war, terrorism, financing terrorism, and other charges under the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan, Report informs.

At the preliminary open session, held in the new administrative building of the Baku Military Court at the Baku Judicial Complex, Ruben Vardanyan's personal information was verified. Ruben Vardanyan was provided with his chosen defense counsel and a Russian language interpreter.

The presiding judge Zeynal Agayev explained the legal requirements to Ruben Vardanyan, including his rights and obligations as the accused, as well as his right to protest, and then asked if Vardanyan had any petitions.

Vardanyan and his defense counsel, providing legal assistance under contract, filed two petitions. The first petition was related to combining Vardanyan's criminal case with the case against 15 persons of Armenian origin accused of committing serious crimes against the Azerbaijani people, while the second requested additional time for the accused to review the criminal case materials.

The prosecutor representing the state objection opposed the petition to combine the criminal cases and asked the court to reject it while supporting the petition for additional time to review the case materials. According to Azerbaijan's criminal procedure legislation, combining criminal cases during court proceedings is not provided for, so the court rejected this petition.

Although Vardanyan was given sufficient time during preliminary investigation to review the case materials in a language he understands and prepare his defense, the court granted his request for an additional 10 days to review the case materials. The prosecution did not object to providing the accused additional time to review the case materials. The preliminary hearing will continue on January 27.

Ruben Vardanyan has been charged with committing acts under Article 100 (planning, preparation, initiating or waging aggressive war), 107 (deportation or forced relocation of population), 109 (persecution), 112 (deprivation of liberty in violation of international law), 113 (use of torture), 114 (mercenary activities), 115 (violation of laws and customs of war), 116 (violation of international humanitarian law during armed conflicts), 214 (terrorism), 214-1 (financing of terrorism) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Additionally, he is charged with committing acts under Article 218 (organizing a criminal community (criminal organization)), 228 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation or carrying of weapons, their components, ammunition, explosives and explosive devices), 270-1 (acts threatening aviation security), 278 (forcible seizure of power or forcible retention of power, forcible change of the constitutional order of the state), 279 (creation of armed formations or groups not provided for by legislation), 318 (illegal crossing of the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan) and other articles of this code.