By Nailia Bagirova and Lucy Papachristou
BAKU (Reuters) — A billionaire former banker and 15 other ex-officials in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region which Azerbaijan retook in 2023 went on trial on Friday in Baku in closed-door proceedings.
The most prominent of the defendants, Ruben Vardanyan, who earned his fortune in Russia before serving as the number-two official in Karabakh’s separatist government from late 2022 until Feb. 2023, was tried separately from the other 15.
“I once again … state my complete innocence and the innocence of my Armenian compatriots also being held as political prisoners and demand an immediate end to this politically-motivated case against us,” Vardanyan, who faces up to life in prison for 42 charges including terrorism, said in a statement on Thursday shared by his family.
Defendants in the other trial include three senior former separatist leaders and other civilian and military figures who face charges including genocide and war crimes, according to Azerbaijani prosecutors.