Ruben Vardanyan declines legal services of appointed defense attorney

ArmInfo. Ruben Vardanyan, a former state minister of Nagorno- Karabakh, businessman and  philanthropist, has rejected the services of the state-appointed defense attorney Azer Maharramov. His lawyer, Avraham Berman,  will continue to defend his rights, as reported by Azerbaijani Trend.

It is noted that the prosecution and the representative of the  injured party did not object to the motion. The court held a meeting  on the spot and granted the motion.  Since January 17, court hearings  have been held in Azerbaijan on the case involving former military  and political leaders of Artsakh. Among the accused are former  presidents of Nagorno-Karabakh Arkady Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan,  Arayik Harutyunyan, former commander of the Defense Army Levon  Mnatsakanyan, former deputy commander of the Defense Army David  Manukyan, former foreign minister David Babayan and speaker of the  National Assembly David Ishkhanyan. The case of former state minister  and philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan has been divided into separate  proceedings. Despite his request to combine his case materials with  others, the court ruled to consider 400 out of the 422 volumes  separately.