Amnesty International has condemned the 20-year prison sentence imposed on prominent businessman Ruben Vardanyan by a Baku military court on February 17, calling it “nothing short of a travesty.” As Zartonk Media previously reported, Vardanyan is the last of 16 ethnic Armenians tried by Azerbaijan in connection with their roles in the former breakaway region of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) prior to its takeover by Azerbaijani forces in 2023.
Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, highlighted that Vardanyan and several other civilians were tried before a military court, raising serious concerns about compliance with fair trial standards.
“While victims of the decades-long conflict in both Armenia and Azerbaijan deserve truth, justice, reparations, and assurances of non-repetition, these convictions constitute an affront to all victims of crimes under international law,” Struthers said.
Jared Genser, Vardanyan’s lawyer, also denounced the trial as a “travesty of justice.” He said the conviction relied on manufactured charges and secret proceedings, with evidence consisting of inadmissible hearsay and claims based solely on Azeri state media reports. Genser urged the immediate release of all 19 Armenian-Christian political prisoners and POWs.
Jared Genser, Vardanyan’s lawyer, condemned the verdict as a “travesty of justice” in a post on X.
He said Ruben’s only “crime” was supporting the self-determination of the Armenian-Christian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, many of whom were displaced during what Genser described as President Ilham Aliyev’s ethnic cleansing campaign. He called the trial a sham, illegal for a civilian to be tried before a military court, held in secret, and marred by serious due process violations, and dismissed the evidence as inadmissible hearsay.
Genser said the conviction violates both international and Azerbaijani law and called for the immediate release of all 19 Armenian-Christian political prisoners and POWs, urging U.S. President Donald Trump to follow through on what he described as a prior commitment to secure their release.
Vardanyan’s legal team similarly called the verdict legally unfounded.
“This ruling is not the result of an independent and impartial judicial process, but rather a predictable outcome driven by political considerations, entirely incompatible with the guarantees of a fair trial,” they said.
Despite never holding a military position, Vardanyan was convicted of multiple crimes, including waging war against Azerbaijan, financing terrorism, and forcibly displacing people.
The lawyers added that the defense was repeatedly obstructed from reviewing case materials, submitting motions, presenting exonerating evidence, and fully working with their chosen counsel. “Under such circumstances, the verdict cannot be considered impartial,” the statement said, and the team called on international organizations to act to protect Vardanyan and other Armenian detainees in Baku.
Vardanyan moved from Russia to Artsakh in 2022 and was detained by Azerbaijani authorities on 27 September 2023 amid a mass exodus of ethnic Armenians following Azerbaijan’s military advance. On February 5, the same court sentenced 15 other defendants, including former leaders of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh, with terms ranging from 15 years to life imprisonment. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has effectively ruled out their release, despite efforts by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance during a visit to the region to raise the issue earlier in February.
