Former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, now on trial at Baku’s Military Court on several terrorism and war crimes charges, has gone on hunger strike.

Vardanyan, in a telephone conversation with his family, said the hunger strike is to protest the judicial farce being conducted against him.

“This is my response to the gross violations of international law and the procedural law of Azerbaijan. What is happening in the courtroom cannot be considered a trial. It is a political show, where my right to a fair trial is being blatantly ignored,” Vardanyan declares in his statement.

Azerbaijan’s State Security Service (SSS) detained Vardanyan in September 2023 as he attempted to travel from Karabakh to Armenia via the Lachin Corridor after Azerbaijani military forces attacked and regained control of the breakaway republic. He was later taken to Baku.

“Unfortunately, it was clear from the very beginning that this case is directed against me only because I exercised my right to freedom of expression and political participation, as defined by international norms, which was aimed at protecting the rights of the Christian Armenian population of Artsakh,” Vardanyan writes.

Vardanyan sacked his state-appointed lawyer during his February 13 appearance before Baku’s Military Court and hired private lawyer Abraham Berman.

“Although Azerbaijan is a party to the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, this process is being carried out in all with gross violations of applicable legal norms and legal procedures,” Vardanyan writes.

The former Artsakh official says he’s deprived of the right to defense.

“My lawyer Abraham Berman’s access to the case files is being restricted, documents are being confiscated, and psychological pressure is being exerted on him. In addition, my international legal team is prohibited from communicating with or meeting with me and from having access to the case files,” Vardanyan writes.

He says the trial is an attempt to condemn all Armenians who have helped and supported Artsakh and its people.  

Vardanyan calls on world leaders, international organizations, human rights defenders, and media representatives to focus on his trial and to see that justice is served.

“Leaving such violations unaddressed paves the way to future tragedies by inciting a new wave of hostility and hatred. Only through truth, law and humanism can justice and peace be ensured in the region," the statement reads.