In Baku’s military court, proceedings continue against Ruben Vardanyan—philanthropist, businessman, and former State Minister of Artsakh—in a case widely considered fabricated. According to APA, the court has now appointed a new state defense attorney for Vardanyan after he rejected his previous counsel.
“The presiding judge reported that during the previous session, Vardanyan submitted a petition to dismiss his lawyer, citing dissatisfaction with the trial process. He also stated he had no contract with a new attorney and did not object to being assigned a state defender. The court accepted the request to terminate the services of Abraham Berman and submitted a request to the Azerbaijani Bar Association,” the report said.
Emil Babishov has been appointed as Vardanyan’s new attorney.
The judge announced that the new defense counsel will be allowed to meet with the defendant both in the pretrial detention center and in court, and will be granted additional time to review the case files.
As a result, the court session was postponed.
The next hearing is scheduled for November 4.
Ruben Vardanyan’s case is being tried separately from those of other Armenian prisoners of war. In a January 16 address, Vardanyan stated he has not made any statements since his arrest aside from his name, and affirmed that all signed records attributed to him are falsified. He also claimed he, his lawyer, and interpreter were subjected to pressure.
