Pastinfo continues its series of publications titled “‘Justice’ According to Azerbaijan,” analyzing the indictment and verdict in the case of Ruben Vardanyan. For professional legal analysis, we have engaged Taron Simonyan, an international law expert and a founding partner of the ELL PARTNERSHIP law firm.
Today, we analyze the charges under the category of “Crimes Against State Power.”
CRIMES AGAINST STATE POWER
Article 278.1 — Actions aimed at the forcible seizure or retention of power or the forcible alteration of the constitutional order
Read also
Alleged Act: Accepting the position of Minister of State (04/11/2022–23/02/2023) characterized as a usurpation of power in the “sovereign territory of Azerbaijan.”
Evidence Underlying the Charge: No evidence regarding violence or the threat of violence was presented. The charges rely solely on the fact of Ruben Vardanyan’s appointment and dismissal as Minister of State of the Republic of Artsakh, as well as his pre-trial testimony describing his responsibilities as an official in charge of economic and social affairs.
Imposed Penalty: Twenty years of imprisonment handed down by the verdict.
Taron Simonyan’s Analysis: A mandatory element of this article is violence. The verdict describes no violent acts whatsoever. Ruben Vardanyan was essentially appointed to a position within an administration that had existed since 1991. All of this occurred under the status quo established by the trilateral statement (09/11/2020), which Azerbaijan itself signed.
The most obvious contradiction is that after 3.5 months, Ruben Vardanyan voluntarily resigned. Someone “forcibly retaining power” does not leave voluntarily. These two assertions cannot be true simultaneously. Thus, accepting an administrative appointment and conducting several months of economic work were qualified as the forcible seizure of state power, which carries a 20-year sentence.
Article 279.3 (Articles 279.1 and 279.2 dismissed) — Creation of unlawful armed formations and execution of attacks as part of such formations resulting in loss of life or other grave consequences
Alleged Act: “Participation in the creation and operation of armed formations, supplying them with weapons, leading them, and organizing training and attacks” — specifically, military exercises near the Badara River (May–August 2023).
Evidence Underlying the Charge: There is no evidence establishing a causal link between the grave consequences (loss of life) and the actions of a specific formation. The charges rely on testimonies from M. Grigoryan and K. Hayrapetyan (who were among the few Armenians remaining in Artsakh after the displacement and were used by Azerbaijan to give fabricated testimony against Ruben Vardanyan – ed.), as well as “operational intelligence,” including reports regarding 70,000 USD worth of military uniforms. The courtroom testimonies of the two witnesses contradicted each other and their own pre-trial statements, whereas their written pre-trial statements were virtually identical word-for-word.
Imposed Penalty: Twenty years of imprisonment handed down by the verdict.
Taron Simonyan’s Analysis: To apply this article, there must be grave consequences — namely, loss of life — and a proven link between those deaths and the actions of a specific formation. The verdict fails to establish this connection in any way, yet imposes a 20-year sentence. Furthermore, the Artsakh Defense Army had been in existence since 1992, making its alleged “creation” by Vardanyan chronologically impossible.
