Baku’s Military Court yesterday rejected a claim made by former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, now on trial in Azerbaijan on various terrorism and war crimes charges, that his state-appointed translators are “unprofessional and biased”.

Given that only Azerbaijani state and government-controlled media outlets are present at the trial, it is not possible to verify the statements attributed to the Armenians on trial in Baku and other details of the trial from other sources.

The court found that Vardanyan, who has consistently argued that the trial violates all international legal norms, did not present evidence to substantiate his claims.

Vardanyan, who’s gone on hunger strike twice to protest these violations, then objected to the details presented in the minutes of the February 25 court session, pointing out procedural violations and judicial bias.

The court noted that objections must be substantiated in writing in accordance with Azerbaijan’s  Criminal Procedural Code of Azerbaijan.

Presiding Judge Zeynal Aghayev, finding “no credible evidence of bias was presented,” rejected the objection.

Azerbaijani border guards detained Vardanyan and seven other former Nagorno-Karabakh officials in September 2023 as they attempted to cross into Armenia following Azerbaijan’s final assault on the region.

Vardanyan has demanded a public trial in the presence of the international media.