Siranush Sahakyan: Complaint filed with ECHR regarding case of Ruben  Vardanyan, held captive in Baku

ArmInfo.  A complaint has been filed with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) regarding the case of former Nagorno-Karabakh state minister and philanthropist Ruben  Vardanyan, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Azerbaijan.  This was stated in a statement by Siranush Sahakyan, attorney and  president of the Center for International and Comparative Law, who  represents Armenian prisoners at the ECHR. Her statement was  published on Vardanyan's official social media pages. Saakyan stated  that the complaint regarding the case of Ruben Vardanyan, a citizen  of the Republic of Armenia currently held in the Umbaki Penitentiary  Complex in Azerbaijan, was filed with the ECHR on July 19, 2026.

"I will represent Ruben Vardanyan's interests at the ECHR. The  complaint details violations of eight articles of the Convention for  the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (the  Convention), supported by comprehensive legal and factual arguments,"  Saakyan noted.

She recalled that on February 17, 2026, the Baku Military Court  sentenced Vardanyan to 20 years in prison, noting that the full text  of the court decision was not read out during the hearing. She added  that a document later received by the family revealed that he was  found guilty on 41 counts under Article 21 of the Criminal Code of  Azerbaijan. "The verdict failed to provide facts or evidence to  support Vardanyan's personal guilt. Instead, the court concluded that  a 'criminal organization'-meaning the leadership of the unrecognized  Republic of Artsakh-had been operating in Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988  and that Vardanyan joined this 'organization' in December 2020,  despite living in Moscow at the time," Sahakyan stated.

According to her, the court qualified Vardanyan's occupation of a  civilian administrative position "as a violent seizure of power," his  commercial and charitable activities "as illegal entrepreneurship and  the financing of terrorism," and his entry into Nagorno-Karabakh  through the Lachin corridor "as an illegal crossing of the state  border of Azerbaijan." "Vardanyan did not appeal the verdict,  considering the trial staged and premeditated, and all domestic legal  remedies ineffective. Indeed, it is impossible to protect one's  rights in a system that inherently denies the right to a fair trial.  Under these circumstances, Ruben Vardanyan decided to seek justice  through international legal mechanisms," the lawyer explained.

It should be noted that the exact number of Armenian prisoners of war  and hostages held in Azerbaijani prisons remains unknown. Experts  estimate the number to be several hundred. Azerbaijani authorities  currently confirm the presence of 19 Armenians in their custody.

Among those held in Azerbaijani captivity are eight former and  current members of the military-political leadership of Artsakh.  These are former Artsakh presidents Arkady Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan,  and Arayik Harutyunyan; former Foreign Minister Davit Babayan; as  well as Parliament Speaker Davit Ishkhanyan; former  Commander-in-Chief of the Artsakh Defense Army, General Levon  Mnatsakanyan; General David Manukyan; and former State Minister Ruben  Vardanyan.

In February of this year, a Baku puppet court sentenced Arayik  Harutyunyan, Davit Babayan, Davit Ishkhanyan, Davit Manukyan, and  Levon Mnatsakanyan to life imprisonment on trumped-up charges, and  Bako Sahakyan, Arkady Ghukasyan, and Ruben Vardanyan to 20 years in  prison. The so-called court sentenced the remaining Artsakh residents  to up to 15 years in prison. All of them were captured in late  September 2023 following the aggression against Artsakh and the fall  of the NKR.