Vardanyan accused the Azerbaijani investigation of falsifications.

On social media, it was stated on behalf of Vardanyan that he, his lawyer, and his translator were pressured to sign documents retroactively.

"I officially declare: I have not given any testimony since the first day of my arrest, except for the initial interrogation, where I only provided my name and surname. Once again, I emphasize: all protocols bearing my signature are forgeries," — reported Vardanyan.

According to Vardanyan, he faces 42 charges, some of which carry a life sentence. He was provided with 422 volumes of documents in Azerbaijani, a language he does not speak, allowing him only one month to review them — from December 9, 2024, to January 8, 2025.

Vardanyan received the list of charges in Russian only on January 8, while the court hearing is already scheduled for January 17.

Azerbaijan has not yet commented on Vardanyan's statement.

In his address, Vardanyan declared his innocence and put forth four demands — to grant him sufficient time to review the case materials and prepare his defense, to eliminate all violations and forgeries, to make the trial public, and to consolidate his case with those of other defendants.

"More than 400 volumes of my case out of 422 are episodes of a common case. Separating my case into a distinct proceeding is an artificial and unfounded decision," — claims Vardanyan.

Vardanyan was detained on September 27, 2023, while attempting to leave Karabakh, a territory that came back under Azerbaijani control as a result of a military operation, and head to Armenia.

Baku accuses Vardanyan of several charges, including financing terrorism and participating in the creation of illegal armed formations. Since his arrest, the accused has repeatedly complained about the conditions of his detention.

Ruben Vardanyan, born in Yerevan, is an investment banker and one of the key figures in the Russian stock market of the 1990s. In 2021, Forbes estimated his net worth at one billion dollars. At the end of 2022, he renounced his Russian citizenship and moved to the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, heading its government.

• According to international law, Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan. For over 30 years, a large portion of the region was under the control of the authorities of the self-proclaimed republic. Azerbaijan regained control over part of the territory as a result of a 44-day war in the fall of 2020. In September 2023, Azerbaijan conducted a military operation in the region, leading to the cessation of the unrecognized Armenian republic.
• About 120,000 people were forced to leave their homes due to fears of persecution by Azerbaijani authorities. Baku has urged the Armenian population to remain in Karabakh and accept Azerbaijani citizenship. Azerbaijan also reported that it guarantees the observance of all rights for Armenians who choose to stay in Karabakh.

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