The trial of the top leadership of the ousted occupation junta continues in Baku. With each court session, increasingly shocking details of Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan are being exposed, including its final stage—the infamous “new war for new territories” that Yerevan announced in the fall of 2019 and lost in the fall of 2020.
Details of negotiations and information about the weapons smuggled into Karabakh for this war are also coming to light. There is no doubt that this is only the beginning, and the most significant revelations are yet to come—especially considering that those on trial in Baku are highly informed individuals. Among them are several so-called “presidents” and other “high-ranking officials” of the occupation regime, as well as Kremlin oligarch Ruben Vardanyan, who was parachuted into Khankendi after Armenia’s defeat in the 44-day war.
This explains why, even before the start of the “Azerbaijani Nuremberg” trial, Armenia and its allies made colossal efforts to free the accused before the court proceedings began. Their scheme predictably collapsed. And since the trial commenced, public hysteria has only intensified—attached to almost any pretext.
What’s particularly noteworthy is the different behavior among the accused. The “Khankendi” defendants—Araik Harutyunyan, Arkadi Ghukasyan, Davit Ishkhanyan, etc.—are acting like classic courtroom glass-cage occupants. They are testifying, implicating both present and absent figures, and staging dramatic performances of “I’m not guilty, I’m a victim too,” as Araik Harutyunyan recently did.
Ruben Vardanyan, however, is another story. The fact that the Kremlin oligarch attempted to discredit his own pre-trial testimony at the very start of the trial speaks volumes—Vardanyan has clearly failed to embody the “heroic underground fighter” persona from World War II-era films. However, he is desperately trying to put on a brave front in court—dismissing his lawyer, refusing to testify, and now even declaring a hunger strike.
What’s even more striking is the “difference in approach” among those fueling the hysteria under the banner of “Free Armenian prisoners.” Yes, rallies and appeals are also being held in support of Araik Harutyunyan, Bako Sahakyan, Davit Babayan, and others—but half-heartedly, just for show. The real campaign is centered around Ruben Vardanyan. And the sheer scale of the effort makes one thing clear: this campaign is simply paid for by the Vardanyan family. Those involved, bluntly speaking, have been bought.
The absurdity reaches new heights. Even Transparency International has joined the campaign to defend Vardanyan. The organization claims to be “particularly concerned about the inhumane treatment of Ruben Vardanyan. He has declared a hunger strike, desperately calling on the international community to intervene and stop the gross violations of law and fundamental human rights by Azerbaijan.”
Let’s not forget: until recently, Transparency International positioned itself as an anti-corruption watchdog—not as a human rights organization, and certainly not as a defender of defendants and convicts. By its own mandate and logic, Transparency International should be investigating the money-laundering scheme Vardanyan created under the name “Troika Dialog” or the bribery of Russian peacekeeping commander General Volkov in Karabakh, which allowed for the continued exploitation of the Demirli and Gizilbulag gold mines while obstructing monitoring by Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Ecology—Minval has extensively reported on this.
But instead of investigating these corruption schemes, the “uncompromising fighters against corruption” have happily taken money from the Vardanyan family and are now defending Ruben Karlenovich.
The media is now flooded with yet another tear-jerking “sensation”: “Vardanyan is being tortured!” The last time similar claims were made, “torture” allegedly referred to a lack of sufficient toilet paper. Now, some claim that photos from the courtroom show bruises on Vardanyan’s face, implying he has been beaten. However, no such photos have been provided—simply because they don’t exist. And using Photoshop and getting caught red-handed is too risky, even for those with a history of forging Azerbaijani medieval coins from the Eldiguzid dynasty to pass them off as “ancient Armenian artifacts.”
Nevertheless, dozens of Armenian activists are already drafting a letter to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), with which Armenia’s leadership has very close ties, demanding an independent medical examination. Why is Vardanyan’s own lawyer silent about these supposed “bruises” and “physical abuse”? The orchestrators of this circus apparently decided to “think about that tomorrow.”
But there’s one detail the masterminds of this campaign overlooked. Azerbaijan respects international law. And international law, let us remind them, includes provisions for prosecuting terrorism, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and international corruption. More importantly, Baku respects its own national sovereignty—including judicial sovereignty.
This means that no amount of external pressure, let alone hysterical theatrics, will dictate whom Azerbaijan prosecutes and whom it pardons. Such attempts at emotional blackmail will not work—regardless of how “high-profile” the NGOs or media figures involved may be.
Nurani
Translated from minval.az
