Ruben Vardanyan’s lawyers file legal action to Baku court

Lawyers for Ruben Vardanyan, a former state minister of the Republic of Artsakh, who is now detained in Azerbaijan, on Thursday filed legal actions in Baku alleging he had been tortured and denied the right to a speedy trial, Reuters writes.

In a statement, Vardanyan’s lawyers said one of the cases related to treatment that constituted torture during a hunger strike he mounted in April 2024. They said that in response Vardanyan was placed in a punishment cell, forced to stand, forbidden to bathe, and deprived of water for two days.

In another action, Vardanyan’s lawyers said that his right to a speedy trial had been violated by his detention since last year. A separate lawsuit accuses a Russian-language Azerbaijani newspaper, the Baku Worker, of defaming Ruben Vardanyan.

In the statement, Vardanyan’s lawyers urged Azerbaijan to release all Karabakh Armenian prisoners held in the country before the COP29 summit begins.