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.
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