Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, has described the recent convictions former Artsakh military and political officials held in Azerbaijan as “noting short of a travesty”.

Struthers, in a statement yesterday, singled out the twenty-year sentence Baku’s Military Court issued yesterday against former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan as a culmination of this travesty.

Struthers says the trials were closed to outside observers and the charges against the Armenian defendants were not fully disclosed during the proceedings.

“Azerbaijan must comply with its obligations under international human rights law and ensure that all those accused of crimes are tried in full compliance with international law and fair trial standards,” Struthers writes.

The Amnesty International official says her office requested information from the Azerbaijani authorities about the trial and the evidence but received no response.