Consequences of Vardanyan`s 480-day imprisonment in Azerbaijani  prisons are visible on his face - Le Parisien

ArmInfo. Russian-Armenian billionaire Ruben Vardanyan, arrested in September 2023, appeared in a Baku court this week on charges of "terrorism." His lawyer and NGOs condemn this "show trial." During Aliyev's authoritarian rule, Azerbaijan has stepped up attacks on Armenia and has also set its sights on France, writes the French newspaper Le Parisien.

The article notes that the consequences of Vardanyan's 480-day  imprisonment in Azerbaijani prisons are visible on his face: a dull  look, dark circles under his eyes, exhausted, surrounded by heavily  armed soldiers. 56-year-old Ruben Vardanyan succinctly answers  questions from magistrates. He is charged under 42 articles of the  Criminal Code: "terrorism," "murder," and "violation of the laws and  customs of war." "An endless list that local media outlets repeat  over and over again. For these alleged facts, the Armenian  billionaire faces up to 200 years in prison.

The author of the article notes that the successful businessman, who  was also a co-founder of the major international humanitarian project  Aurora, had a bright future ahead of him, but in 2020, everything  changed. Azerbaijan, having launched violent attacks to seize  Nagorno-Karabakh, reignited the flames of the eternal conflict. "This  war became a red line for him." "It was unbearable for him to see how  the whole world was abandoning the Armenians," says his son David  Vardanyan. At that time, Ruben Vardanyan felt that he had a mission  to fulfill. Nothing more, nothing less: to bring peace to the region.  In September 2022, he settled there. David recalls their last  conversation, which took place a few weeks before his father moved to  Nagorno-Karabakh. "I was against his decision. I was afraid that he  would not return from there alive," the billionaire's son told the  publication.

The plan of the determined businessman worked for a while. For a  time, until February 2023, he served as the state minister of  Nagorno-Karabakh, creating public canteens to provide the local  population with food... However, in September, the region explodes  again. Azerbaijan launches a lightning attack there, which it  presents as an "anti-terrorist operation." As a result, 400 people  were killed, and 120,000 Armenians living there left Artsakh. Ruben  Vardanyan was arrested on September 27 while trying to cross the  border. He is handcuffed, surrounded by two soldiers. Photos of his  arrest spread around the world.

The trial begins. He is tortured in prison. In April 2024, after a  two-week hunger strike, his family was denied contact with him. As  punishment, the authorities placed him in solitary confinement for 23  days.  "He could barely sit up, was deprived of water and food, the  lights were on 24 hours a day," wrote his international lawyer, Jared  Genser. The human rights expert has denounced the "show trial" since  the first day of the hearing. The 25,000-page criminal case is  written entirely in Azerbaijani, a language the defendant does not  speak.

Azerbaijani media calls him a "war criminal." "More nonsense. A man  in his 50s is standing before a military court, although he has never  worn a military uniform. This is a gross violation of the European  Convention on Human Rights," wrote the lawyer, who had no direct  contact with his client. "I think he will get a long sentence,  possibly even life imprisonment," Genser said. This is the fate that  local media outlets are promising Ruben Vardanyan, happily calling  him a "war criminal."

By organizing this sham trial, the authorities seem determined to  secure a strategy for themselves. "Ruben Vardanyan is the person the  regime fears most, he is the one who needs to be overthrown. Ilham  Aliyev needs this historic trial to turn the page on  Nagorno-Karabakh's independence," explains Tigran Yeghavyan,  professor at Schiller International University and author of  "Geopolitics of Armenia."

Ruben Vardanyan sent a letter on January 16 condemning the conditions  of his trial. He explains that he feels "neither anger nor hatred,"  expressing his conviction that the truth will prevail.