Ruben Vardanyan case taken to European Court of Human Rights

A complaint challenging the prosecution and imprisonment of former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan has been submitted to the European Court of Human Rights, his foundation announced.

The application was filed on July 19 by human rights lawyer Siranush Sahakyan, who will represent Vardanyan before the Strasbourg-based court. Sahakyan is the Executive Director at the Armenian Legal Centre for Justice and Human Rights and heads the Center for International and Comparative Law. She has represented several Armenian detainees in cases before the ECHR.

According to a statement released by the Ruben Vardanyan Foundation, the complaint notes violations of eight provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights and presents detailed legal arguments in support of those claims.

Vardanyan was sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Baku Military Court on February 17, 2026. The full judgment was not read aloud during the hearing. A written copy later obtained by his family reportedly states that he was convicted on 41 charges under 21 articles of Azerbaijan’s Criminal Code.

The ECHR application maintains that the ruling fails to establish Vardanyan’s individual criminal responsibility through concrete facts or evidence. Instead, it says the Azerbaijani court attributed the activities of Artsakh’s former governing institutions to a so-called “criminal community” and concluded that Vardanyan joined it in December 2020, despite living in Moscow at the time.

The judgment also reportedly portrayed Vardanyan’s acceptance of a civilian government position in Artsakh as the violent seizure of power. His business and philanthropic activities were classified as illegal entrepreneurship and terrorism financing, while his entry into Artsakh through the Lachin Corridor was treated as an illegal border crossing.

Vardanyan did not appeal the sentence in Azerbaijan, arguing that the proceedings had been staged and that the outcome was predetermined. His legal team maintains that domestic remedies were ineffective because the Azerbaijani judicial system denied him the possibility of a fair trial from the outset.

“Ruben Vardanyan decided to continue the pursuit of justice through international legal mechanisms,” the statement said.

Vardanyan, a businessman and philanthropist who served as Artsakh’s state minister, was tried separately from other former Artsakh officials currently detained and prosecuted in Azerbaijan.