Former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan told a Baku court today that he wants to dismiss his lawyer because he is dissatisfied with the course of the trial.

Vardanyan is on trial in Baku on several terrorism and war crimes charges.

Only Azerbaijani state and government-controlled media outlets are present at the trial, thus it’s not possible to verify the statements attributed to the Armenians on trial and other details of the trial from other sources.

According to Azerbaijan’s state news agency Azertaj, Vardanyan submitted the dismissal petition to the court.

Vardanyan’s attorney, Abraham Berman, stated that he leaves the decision to grant the petition to the court’s discretion.

Azertaj reports that Vardanyan will be provided with a state-appointed lawyer since he has not hired the services of another lawyer.

Vardanyan, according to Azertaj, said that he is not against the state appointing him a lawyer

The trial has been postponed. The next court hearing is scheduled for October 28.

Top photo: AzerTaj State News Agency