Azerbaijan extends Ruben Vardanyan’s jail term

A court in Baku on Friday extended the pre-trial detention of former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, the Azerbaijani media reported.

Vardanyan, a social entrepreneur and philanthropist, was illegally arrested by Azerbaijani border guards as he attempted to leave Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) for Armenia through the Lachin corridor on 27 September 2023.

He has been charged with financing terrorism, illegally entering Karabakh and supplying its armed forces with military equipment.

Other Artsakh leaders illegally detained in Azerbaijan include former Presidents Arayik Harutyunyan, Bako Sahakyan and Arkady Ghukasyan, former presidential advisor David Babayan, last Artsakh parliament speaker David Ishkhanyan, as well as former Artsakh army commander Levon Mnatsakanyan and former deputy commander David Manukyan.