Ruben Vardanyan's arrest extended

Sabail court extends term of arrest of Ruben Vardanyan, former ‘state minister’ of the separatist regime in Karabakh.

He was detained by Azerbaijani border guards on 27 September 2023 while trying to flee to Armenia. He was accused of financing terrorism, establishing illegal armed formations and illegally crossing the border of Azerbaijan, and was arrested.

It is not reported for how long the arrest has been extended.

According to the criminal procedural legislation of Azerbaijan, the period of preliminary investigation and pre-trial detention in cases of those accused of especially grave crimes can be up to 19 months.

Earlier, on 11 October the term of arrest of other Karabakh separatist leaders: Arkady Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Araik Harutyunyan, David Babayan, David Ishkhanyan, Leva Mnatsakanyan, David Manukyan and Ruben Vardanyan was extended.

Last summer, Azerbaijan's Prosecutor General Kyamran Aliyev claimed that the preliminary investigation against the separatists had been completed.

It is likely that the extension of the preliminary detention of the separatists was caused by the need for additional time for the defendants and their lawyers to familiarize themselves with the materials of the criminal case.

According to the CCP, the defendants and their lawyers are familiarized with the case materials one by one.