Court hearing of criminal case against Ruben Vardanyan continued on February 17

The court hearing on the criminal case against Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian citizen accused under various articles of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic including torture, mercenary activity, violation of laws and customs of war, terrorism, terrorism financing, and other charges, continued on February 17, Report informs.

At the open court session held at the Baku Military Court located in the Baku Court Complex, presided over by Judge Zeynal Agayev, with judges Anar Rzayev and Jamal Ramazanov (reserve judge Gunel Samadova), the accused was provided with an interpreter in Russian (a language he speaks), as well as lawyers for his defense.

The court session was attended by victims, their legal successors and representatives, and prosecutors defending the state prosecution.

At the beginning of the session, Ruben Vardanyan and his defense lawyer Avraam Berman requested the court to arrange conditions for a confidential meeting.

The court granted the motion and announced a recess for the confidential meeting.

After the recess, Ruben Vardanyan and his defender filed a motion objecting to the composition of the court.

Prosecutors Vusal Aliyev and Fuad Musayev, who defended the state prosecution, commented on the motion noting that a similar motion had been reviewed and a relevant decision was made in the previous court hearing. Also, the requirements regarding the specific cases of objection to the judge and the necessity of substantiating such objection in the criminal procedure legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan have been repeatedly emphasized.

The prosecutors, stating that no specific grounds were established for the issues mentioned in the motion, requested to leave the objection unconsidered.

The victims participating in the court session requested the court to leave the objection unconsidered.

Later on, the court went into deliberation to consider the objection. According to the decision announced after the deliberation, the objection was left unconsidered.

At this court session, the indictment announced details regarding the military aggression against Azerbaijan, which was carried out under the direct leadership and participation of the Armenian state, its state institutions' officials, military forces and illegal armed formations, through verbal and written assignments, instructions and directives, with material, technical and personnel support, centralized management, and strict control, in violation of domestic and international law norms on Azerbaijan's territory. The indictment included episodes about the mining of the sovereign territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan that were once under occupation, tortures inflicted on Azerbaijani citizens taken as prisoners and hostages, individual criminal acts committed during the aggressive war conducted by Armenia and the mentioned criminal organization under the leadership and direct or indirect participation of Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sargsyan, Vazgen Manukyan, Vazgen Sargsyan, Samvel Babayan, Vitaly Balasanyan, Zori Balayan, Seyran Ohanyan, Arshavir Karamyan, Monte Melkonian and others as well as circumstances that made the initiation of anti-terrorist operations by the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan inevitable.

According to the indictment, on September 12-14, 2022, as a result of intensive fire from Armenian combat positions using large-caliber weapons, mortars, and various artillery installations targeting the guard posts and headquarters of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan located in Zangilan, Gubadli, Dashkasan, Kalbajar, and Lachin districts, 77 military servicemen of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces were deliberately killed, and attempts were made to deliberately kill 435 military servicemen, as well as one civilian resident of Kalbajar district by inflicting severe bodily injuries.

Furthermore, it was noted that the Armenian state, through Ruben Vardanyan and others, armed the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" and its illegal armed formations, which it had created in the sovereign territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan that it had previously occupied and which operated under its control, with a total of 160 various types of armored combat vehicles, 16,805,903 various types of firearms, their component parts and ammunition, 230 various types of mortars, 137 various types of anti-tank weapons, 162 various types of artillery guns, 3 ground radar systems and other types of military-technical property, 41,522 various types of hand grenades, as well as the Pole-21 Radio Jamming Complex used to divert aircraft and other equipment from their targets, and the Repellent-1 electronic warfare complex used to suppress navigation and telemetry signals.

First Deputy Prosecutor General's senior assistant Vusal Aliyev announced the relevant articles of the Criminal Code under which the accused Ruben Vardanyan is charged.

It was noted that Ruben Vardanyan is accused of committing acts under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Article 100 (planning and conducting aggressive war), 107 (deportation or forced displacement of population), 109 (persecution), 112 (illegal deprivation of liberty contrary to international law norms), 113 (torture), 114 (mercenarism), 115 (violation of laws and customs of war), 116 (violation of international humanitarian law during armed conflict), 214 (terrorism), 214-1 (financing of terrorism).

He is also charged with committing acts under Article 218 (creating a criminal organization), 228 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation and carrying of weapons, their components, ammunition, explosives and devices), 270-1 (acts creating threats to aviation security), 278 (violent seizure of power and violent retention of power, forced change of constitutional order), 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 the Criminal Code.

Thus, the announcement of the conclusive part of the indictment on the case concluded.

Later, the presiding judge Zeynal Agayev explained to the accused person the essence of each charge brought against him, the legal qualification of the acts attributed to him and the punishment provided by criminal law for those acts, as well as the rights possessed by the accused person.

Then, during the court session, the judge, based on legislation, addressed questions to the accused person regarding whether they plead guilty or not.

The accused refused to answer the questions as a sign of objection to the charges brought against them.

The next court session is scheduled for February 25.

The trial of Ruben Vardanyan, accused of terrorism, financing terrorism, and a litany of other grave charges, commenced today at the Baku Court Complex.

The proceedings are being presided over by Judge Zeynal Aghayev of the Baku Military Court.

According to Report, the state prosecutor presented the charges against Ruben Vardanyan during the previous court session. The accusations span a wide range of offenses under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, including planning, preparing, initiating, or waging an aggressive war (Article 100), deportation or forcible transfer of population (Article 107), persecution (Article 109), unlawful imprisonment in violation of international law (Article 112), torture (Article 113), mercenarism (Article 114), violations of the laws and customs of war (Article 115), and breaches of international humanitarian law during armed conflicts (Article 116).

Vardanyan also stands accused of terrorism (Article 214), financing terrorism (Article 214-1), organizing a criminal community or organization (Article 218), illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation, or carrying of weapons, components, ammunition, explosives, and explosive devices (Article 228), acts threatening aviation security (Article 270-1), violent seizure or retention of power, and violent change of the constitutional order of the state (Article 278).

Furthermore, the charges include the creation of armed formations or groups not provided for by the legislation (Article 279), illegal crossing of the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Article 318), and other articles of the Criminal Code.