Vardanyan requested a meeting with the Azerbaijani ombudsman

In a conversation with his family, former Nagorno-Karabakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan attempted to convey an appeal to the Azerbaijani Ombudsman requesting a meeting. According to him, a month after the trials ended, neither he nor the other convicted Nagorno-Karabakh leaders received copies of the verdicts, and it was impossible to contact the Ombudsman. The Azerbaijani side disconnected the call.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," former Nagorno-Karabakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, sentenced in Baku to 20 years in prison, declined to file an appeal, explaining that he does not recognize the verdict as an act of justice. On February 17, the Baku Military Court sentenced Ruben Vardanyan to 20 years in prison. The defendant, who headed the Karabakh government for several months during the blockade of the Lachin corridor, has been found guilty of war crimes. A lawyer provided to Vardanyan by the Azerbaijani authorities was present at the hearing. The court found Vardanyan guilty without evidence, but there was no hope for a fair trial, according to the convicted man's relatives.

Ruben Vardanyan's family shared a recording of a phone call with him on his official Telegram channel. On March 13, during a conversation with his family, Vardanyan attempted to convey a public appeal to Azerbaijan's Human Rights Defender, Sabina Aliyeva. The call was forcibly terminated. This appeal was a necessary step: over the previous ten days, Ruben had unsuccessfully attempted to contact her through a lawyer, written appeals, and phone calls.

The trials took place a month ago. Neither Ruben nor other Armenian prisoners have yet received official verdicts—in Russian, Armenian, or Azerbaijani. They don't know the charges against them or when or where they will be transferred, the statement said.

"We are deeply concerned about the current situation. The lack of reliable information about the situation of Armenian prisoners and the liquidation of independent human rights mechanisms in Azerbaijan—including the withdrawal of the International Committee of the Red Cross—deprive all prisoners of any institutional protection. We also fear that even short phone calls—the only remaining means of communication—may be cut off," the statement said.

I haven't been able to receive a verdict for a month: neither in Russian, nor in Armenian, nor in Azerbaijani—I don't know what I was convicted of or under what charges.

In his statement, a recording of which was distributed by his family, Vardanyan says that over the past 10 days, despite all efforts—through a lawyer, by writing statements, and by trying to call—he has been unable to reach you. Ombudsman.

"Unfortunately, I am not being given the opportunity to address you, so that you—the only one who could in this situation there... I have not been able to receive the verdict for a month: not in Russian, not in Armenian, not in Azerbaijani—I do not know why I was convicted or under what articles. I am asking you for a meeting so that I can discuss all of this. Because, unfortunately, the Red Cross has left. There is no other institution here that could be in touch with us," Vardanyan stated. During the conversation, he was forbidden from conveying his appeal to the Ombudsman, and then the call was disconnected, the family writes.

As a reminder, Ruben Vardanyan only announced in September 2022 his decision to renounce Russian citizenship and move to Nagorno-Karabakh to support local residents "in a grave psychological state." In October 2022, Vardanyan agreed to head the government, and became Minister of State on November 4, 2022. However, on February 23, 2023, Vardanyan was dismissed after serving as state minister for less than four months. During this period, Vardanyan was forced to seek solutions to the problems faced by the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh due to the blockade of the Lachin corridor.

Later, in the Baku court, Vardanyan's defense pointed out that the prosecution accused him of events that occurred, in part, many years before his arrival in Karabakh.

Azerbaijani citizens recognized as victims also testified to this in court. In particular, they spoke about shelling in the Kelbajar region, which came under the control of Baku back in 2020, and in the Zangilan region, which was also occupied by Azerbaijan in 2020.

The same court, since January 2025, has been hearing the case of 15 former leaders and residents of Nagorno-Karabakh, detained in September-October 2023. They were charged under 20 articles of the Criminal Code, including war crimes. All the defendants refused to plead guilty, but on February 5, the court sentenced them to life and other long-term prison terms.

The "Caucasian Knot" has prepared reports entitled "Highlights of the Sentences of Former Leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh" and "Vardanyan and 15 Karabakh Leaders: Highlights of the Courts in Baku".