The review session of court hearings on the criminal case against Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian citizen charged with torture, mercenary activity, violation of the laws and customs of warfare, terrorism, financing terrorism, and other articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, continued on February 17.

The open hearings were held at the Baku Military Court and presided over by Judge Zeynal Agayev and a panel of judges consisting of Anar Rzayev and Jamal Ramazanov (reserve judge Gunel Samadova). The accused was provided with an interpreter in the language of his choice, i.e. Russian, as well as lawyers for his defense.

The court hearing was attended by victims, their legal successors and representatives, prosecutors in charge of public prosecution.

At the beginning of the hearing, Ruben Vardanyan and his defense attorney Avraam Berman asked the court to create conditions for a meeting in private.

The court granted the motion and a recess was announced for a meeting in private.

After the motion, Ruben Vardanyan and his defense attorney filed a motion to contest the composition of the court.

Prosecutors Vusal Aliyev and Fuad Musayev, defending the state prosecution, while commented on the motion, stating that a similar motion had been put forward and considered in the previous court hearing and resulted in the adoption of a relevant decision. They also reiterated the requirements in the criminal procedural legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan regarding the specification of particular circumstances for objections to the judge and the necessity of substantiating such objections.

The prosecutors stated that no specific grounds had been established regarding the issues mentioned in the motion and requested that the motion not be upheld.

The victims present at the hearing also asked the court to leave the motion unexamined.

Following this, the court went into deliberation to consider the motion. According to the decision announced after the deliberation, the appeal was left unexamined.

The court hearing saw the announcement of the indictment with regard to the Armenian state, the direct leadership and participation of its state bodies, military forces and illegal armed formations, the verbal and written instructions, orders and assignments, the provision of material and technical support, the central governance, as well as the exercise of rigorous control, with the aim of committing military aggression and acts of terror against the Republic of Azerbaijan in the territory of Azerbaijan in violation of domestic and international law, under the leadership and with direct and indirect participation of the Armenian state, as well as Robert Sedraki Kocharyan, Serzh Azati Sargsyan, Vazgen Mikaeli Manukyan, Vazgen Zaveni Sargsyan, Samvel Andraniki Babayan, Vitali Mikaeli Balasanyan, Zori Hayki Balayan, Seyran Mushegi Ohanyan, Arshavir Surenovich Garamyan, Monte Charles Melkonyan and others, including the mining of the sovereign territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan that were once under occupation during the war of aggression waged by the aforementioned criminal group, the torture inflicted on Azerbaijani citizens who were captured and taken prisoner, the various criminal acts committed, as well as the circumstances that made the initiation of anti-terror operation by the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan inevitable.

According to the indictment, between September 12 and 14, 2022, the armed forces of Armenia subjected the military posts and headquarters of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan in the territories of Zangilan, Gubadli, Dashkasan, Kalbajar, and Lachin districts to sustained large-caliber fire using weapons, mortars and various artillery systems. As a result, 77 military personnel of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces were deliberately killed and attempts were made to deliberately kill 435 military personnel, as well as one civilian resident of Kalbajar district, causing them serious bodily harm.

In addition, it was noted that the Armenian state has armed the so-called “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic” and its illegal armed formations it created in the sovereign territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan it once occupied and kept under its control through Ruben Vardanyan and others with a total of 160 different pieces of armored combat equipment, 16,805,903 different types of small arms, their components and ammunition, 230 different types of mortars, 137 different types of anti-tank vehicles, 162 different types of artillery pieces, three-legged radar systems and other types of military and technical assets, 41,522 different types of hand grenades, as well as the “Pole-21” radio jamming complex used to divert flying aircraft and other equipment from their targets and the “Repellent-1” radio electronic warfare complex used to silence navigation and telemetry signals.

In conclusion, Senior Assistant to the Prosecutor General Vusal Aliyev read out relevant articles of the Criminal Code the accused Ruben Vardanyan is charged with.

It was noted that Ruben Vardanyan was charged with crimes under Articles 100.1, 100.2 (planning, preparing, initiating and waging a war of aggression), 107 (deportation and forced displacement of the population), 109 (persecution), 110 (forcible disappearance of persons), 112 (deprivation of liberty contrary to international law), 113 (torture), 114.1 (mercenary activity), 115.2 (violation of the laws and customs of warfare), 116.0.1, 116.0.2, 116.0.10, 116.0.11, 116.0.16, 116.0.18 (violation of international humanitarian law during armed conflict), 120.2.1, 120.2.3, 120.2.4, 120.2.7, 120.2.11, 120.2.12 (intentional murder), 29,120.2.1, 29,120.2.3, 29,120.2.4, 29,120.2.7, 29,120.2.11, 29,120.2.12 (attempted intentional murder), 192.3.1 (illegal entrepreneurship), 214.2.1, 214.2.3, 214.2.4 (terrorism), 214-1 (financing of terrorism), 218.1, 218.2 (creation of a criminal group), 228.3 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation and possession of firearms, their components, ammunition, explosives and devices), 270-1.2, 270-1.4 (acts threatening aviation safety), 278.1 (forcible seizure or retention of power, forcible change of the constitutional structure of the state), 279.1, 279.2, 279.3 (creation of armed formations or groups not provided for by law) and 318.2 (illegal crossing of the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan).

This completed the announcement of the concluding part of the indictment on the case.

Then, presiding judge Zeynal Aghayev explained to the accused the essence of each charge brought against him, the legal classification of the acts announced to him and the punishment provided for by the criminal law for such acts, as well as the rights of the accused.

Then, during the hearing, the judge asked the accused questions about whether he considered himself guilty according to the legislation.

The accused refused to answer the questions asked as a gesture of objection to the charges brought against him.

The next court hearing is scheduled for February 25.