BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 16. Court proceedings in the criminal case against Armenian citizen Ruben Vardanyan, charged under multiple articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan related to crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes, terrorism, financing of terrorism, and other grave offenses, continued on December 16, TurkicWorld reports.
The open court session at the Baku Military Court, chaired by Judge Zeynal Aghayev and composed of judges Anar Rzayev and Jamal Ramazanov (reserve judge: Gunel Samadova), provided the accused with a Russian-language interpreter and a state-appointed defense lawyer.
Presiding Judge Zeynal Aghayev introduced the panel of judges, the prosecutors representing the state, the interpreters, and other participants to the victims and their legal successors attending the proceedings for the first time. He also explained their rights and obligations under the law.
R. Vardanyan's lawyer, Emil Babishov, then submitted two motions.
Defense lawyer Emil Babishov stated that during the September 16 trial session, the accused Ruben Vardanyan, whose rights he represents, submitted several motions. One motion requested the presence of a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in court as a witness to be interrogated. According to the defense, the ICRC representative’s testimony is necessary because during the preliminary investigation and at various times during the trial, ICRC representatives visited the location where Vardanyan was temporarily detained. They provided him with food and clothing and facilitated communication with his family.
The lawyer emphasized that the main purpose of the representative’s participation in court is to clarify the accused’s procedural status. Vardanyan confirmed that he supported his lawyer’s motion.
Senior Assistant to the Prosecutor General Vusal Aliyev commented that Vardanyan’s status in the ongoing criminal case is that of an accused, formally established in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) of Azerbaijan.
His rights were explained, notifications provided, and he has been questioned as an accused during the preliminary investigation. Throughout nearly a year of trial, Vardanyan has exercised his rights, defended his position, submitted motions citing Article 91 of the CPC, and at times refused to testify.
When necessary, he has asked questions of victims and witnesses. The prosecution argued that the accused understands his procedural status and that the ICRC representative’s testimony would not clarify or determine this status, as international representatives do not determine the procedural standing of an accused.
Subsequent to the adjudication of the involved entities, the tribunal engaged in a comprehensive evaluation and subsequently dismissed the procedural motion. Presiding Judge Zeynal Aghayev articulated that the motion lacked pertinence to the case at hand, possessed no substantive evidentiary merit, and was consequently dismissed. He underscored that the judiciary's mandate is to ascertain Vardanyan's culpability, and pronouncements from a global entity bear no relevance to this adjudication.
Following this, lawyer Emil Babishov submitted a second motion, requesting that the investigator be questioned as a witness regarding the inspection of Vardanyan’s office and residence, as documented in the criminal case materials, including disks containing video evidence. The defense argued that clarification of certain facts in the videos required interrogation of the investigator. Vardanyan confirmed his support for this motion.
Senior Assistant to the Prosecutor General Vusal Aliyev responded that the motion was unfounded. He explained that Article 95 of the CPC establishes specific grounds for questioning an investigator, and no such grounds exist in this case. The prosecution maintained that questioning the investigator was unnecessary and that the defense had not sufficiently substantiated its request.
After deliberation, the court rejected the second motion, emphasizing that investigators are among those who cannot be questioned as witnesses under Article 95 of the CPC.
Judge Zeynal Aghayev then asked the parties for their opinions regarding the conclusion of the judicial investigation. Both the defense and prosecution confirmed they had no objections, allowing the trial to proceed to closing arguments. Prosecutors requested time to prepare their statements.
The next court session is scheduled for December 18.
Ruben Vardanyan faces multiple charges under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, including 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 (violations of international humanitarian law norms during an 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, 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 not provided for by law), and 318.2 (illegal crossing of the state border).
To note, the preliminary investigation of the criminal case against Ruben Vardanyan, accused under articles concerning crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes, terrorism, financing of terrorism, and other offenses, was conducted by the State Security Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
