Vardanyan's relatives criticized the Baku court's verdict.
A Baku court found Ruben Vardanyan guilty of war crimes without evidence, but there was no hope for a fair trial, according to his relatives. Vardanyan headed the Karabakh government for several months during the blockade of the Lachin Corridor.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," today the Baku Military Court sentenced former Nagorno-Karabakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan to 20 years in prison, finding him guilty of war crimes. A lawyer provided to Vardanyan by the state was present at the hearing.
The court has been hearing Ruben Vardanyan's case since January 2025. On December 18, 2025, the prosecutor proposed sentencing Vardanyan to life imprisonment. The defendant stated that the trial did not meet the criteria for a fair trial.
Ruben Vardanyan's family issued a statement regarding the verdict. They called the Baku court's decision "horrific, but expected," since, in their words, it was "obvious that the outcome of this trial was predetermined," News.am reports.
"During his entire detention, no evidence was presented for any of the charges. Throughout this time, Ruben was deprived of any guarantees that he would receive due process, as well as guarantees of access to real, rather than formal, legal defense," the newspaper quotes the convicted man's relatives as saying.
At the final stage of the trial, Ruben Vardanyan forbade his lawyer from speaking and delivered the closing speech himself, quoting classic Azerbaijani poetry. He explained his position by saying that "this is not a trial, but a courtroom." According to him, "there was no opportunity for a normal trial."
The authors of the statement emphasized Vardanyan's reputation as a "humanitarian, philanthropist, and social entrepreneur." "Civil society leaders and international observers have provided our family with support that has given us strength and hope. Everyone who knows Ruben personally or has interacted with him professionally understands the absurdity and groundlessness of the charges against him," they stated.
The convict's family assured that they will continue to seek "the release of Ruben and Armenian prisoners held on politically motivated grounds." "We call on world leaders, international organizations, and human rights communities to take all appropriate measures, in accordance with international law, to ensure their freedom and protect their rights," Vardanyan's relatives stated.
Vardanyan served as a Karabakh official for less than four months
Ruben Vardanyan only announced in September 2022 his decision to renounce his Russian citizenship and move to Nagorno-Karabakh to support local residents "in a grave psychological state." In October 2022, Vardanyan agreed to head the government, and became Minister of State on November 4, 2022. However, on February 23, 2023, Vardanyan was dismissed, having served as state minister for less than four months.
During this period, Vardanyan was forced to seek solutions to the problems faced by residents of Nagorno-Karabakh due to the blockade of the Lachin corridor. In particular, the prolonged blockade of the only road to Karabakh led to shortages of food and medicine. In January 2023, due to the food shortage, Ruben Vardanyan announced the introduction of a food distribution system in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Later, in a Baku court, Vardanyan's defense pointed out that the prosecution was accusing him of events that occurred, in part, many years before his arrival in Karabakh.
Azerbaijani citizens recognized as victims also testified to this in court. In particular, they spoke about the shelling in the Kelbajar region, which came under the control of Baku back in 2020, and in the Zangilan region, which was also occupied by Azerbaijan in 2020.
On December 9, 2025, the victims testified in court about the shelling by Armenian units of Lachin, which also came under the control of Baku even before Ruben Vardanyan became an official in Karabakh.
The same court, since January 2025, has been hearing the case of 15 former leaders and residents of Nagorno-Karabakh, detained in September-October 2023. They were charged under 20 articles of the Criminal Code, including war crimes. All defendants denied guilt, but on February 5, the court sentenced them to life and long prison terms. The "Caucasian Knot" has prepared the reports "Key Points on the Sentences of Former Nagorno-Karabakh Leaders" and "Vardanyan and 15 Karabakh Leaders: Key Points on the Courts in Baku".
On September 19-20, 2023, Azerbaijan conducted large-scale military operations and took control of the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, after which a mass exodus of the Armenian population began. By October 7, 2023, 100,632 internally displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh had arrived in Armenia, and by September 2024, only 14 Armenians remained in the region. The "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a report entitled "The Beginning and End of the Unrecognized Republic of Artsakh".