Ruben Vardanyan challenges court panel in Baku trial

PanARMENIAN.Net - On April 29, the show trial against former State Minister of Artsakh Ruben Vardanyan resumed in Baku on what are widely regarded as politically motivated charges.

Vardanyan and his defense attorney Abraham Berman filed a formal objection to the composition of the judicial panel. Berman argued that numerous motions submitted in previous hearings had been rejected and that the defense still had not been granted full access to the transcripts. He asserted that the presiding judges were biased and had a vested interest in pursuing the criminal case against Vardanyan, according to Azertag.

Vusal Aliyev, a senior assistant to the Prosecutor General, countered that the court had already addressed these concerns in earlier sessions. He claimed that the denial of motions could not be considered proof of judicial bias.

After deliberation, the court decided to dismiss the complaint without review, citing a lack of evidence demonstrating partiality on the part of the judges.

The next hearing is scheduled for May 6.

U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz stated that in a conversation with Azerbaijani President’s advisor Hikmet Hajiyev, he had stressed the need to release the detainees and finalize a peace treaty with Armenia. Ruben Vardanyan’s attorney Jared Genser called on Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan to carefully consider statements made by U.S. President Donald Trump and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.