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Human Rights Attorney Jared Genser Is Making the Case for Ruben Vardanyan

by
Alin K. Gregorian
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WASHINGTON — Those of us in the diaspora are seeing increasingly worrisome pictures from the trials of Karabakh (Artsakh) Armenian political prisoners in Azerbaijan. The trials, near-universally acknowledged as shams, seem focused on making an example out of one former Artsakh leader, Ruben Vardanyan.

While attorneys Siranush Sahakyan in Armenia and Philippe Raffi Kalfayan in France are working on the case of Vardanyan and the other political prisoners in Baku, the family has also hired noted international human rights attorney Jared Genser, managing director of the law firm Perseus Strategies, LLC, in Washington, to represent him.

Genser recently replied to a series of questions submitted to him about the work he is doing on behalf of his famous client.

Genser starting acting as Vardanyan’s attorney in November 2023. Vardanyan and his fellow current and former leaders of Artsakh were rounded up by the Azerbaijani authorities in September 2023 after their forces staged a massive and deadly strike on the tiny republic, in effect ending its existence, after a brutal nine-month blockade.

The authorities there have singled out Vardanyan, separating his case from the other seven Armenian leaders. They have not allowed any outside attorneys to represent him and in addition, keep adding to his list of charges.

When asked about the charges Vardanyan is facing, Genser replied, “Ruben is facing 42 politically-motivated charges under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan. In short, he is being blamed for the existence of what the Azeri regime claims is the illegal Republic of Artsakh and everything that it has purportedly done that regime thinks is wrong recent years. If convicted, he faces life in prison.

Ruben Vardanyan in court in Baku on March 11

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“When Ruben was arrested in September 2023, he was remanded to pretrial detention on three charges — financing terrorism, participation in the creation and operation of armed groups not sanctioned by law, and illegal crossing of the state border. It was only after over a year in pretrial detention that the prosecutor announced the 42 charges listed above. By adding new charges, the government was able to restart the clock on his pre-trial detention, beyond the two additional four-month extensions of his detention in 2024. These are clearly not the actions of a legitimate judicial system, and speak to the political motivation behind Ruben’s detention.”

Of course, one of the biggest obstacles in this case is not being able to directly communicate with his client as he is not allowed to go to Azerbaijan and nor can Vardanyan freely contact him. “Given the sensitivities of the situation on the ground, I am not in a position to share this information publicly. I can say that I do regularly receive limited information from Ruben. But because of claims that they involve ‘state secrets,’ neither Ruben’s wife [Veronika Zonabend] nor I have been given the indictment or the alleged evidence against him. This violates his right to have international counsel of his choosing and his right to prepare a defense, as protected under international law,” Genser said.

In Azerbaijan, Vardanyan’s family has retained a local attorney.

All the legal experts involved with the case anticipate an unfair judgement but hope to fight it. “We are deploying an array of legal, political and public relations advocacy efforts. We are, for example, expecting a judgment from a major international tribunal in the coming weeks that is evaluating if Ruben’s detention is or is not compatible with Azerbaijan’s obligations of international law,” Genser said. “If we prevail, this body will publicly call for Ruben’s immediate and unconditional release. We are advocating on Ruben’s behalf all around the world. For example, for the first time, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk just issued a statement call for the immediate release of all Azeri political prisoners and the Armenian prisoners too. We have engaged the Council of Europe, the European Union, the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe. We have engaged the US government and the French government. We are collaborating and sharing information with many NGOs. And we are also speaking as widely as possible with the media. What I have just described is only a small fraction of our efforts. As with the proverbial iceberg, effective work on political prisoner cases is only 20 percent visible and 80 percent of the is done privately and behind the scenes.”

For the second time during his incarceration, Vardanyan has launched a hunger strike, now past two weeks. He had to leave court at least once when his blood pressure spiked. The once heavy-set Vardanyan now looks gaunt and unwell.

“Ruben courageously launched his hunger strike [on February 19], and as you can imagine that has taken a severe toll on his health. As you can read more about in my statement, after only one week of the strike, Ruben had lost six kilograms, his blood pressure was recorded at the dangerously high rate of 140/110, and his pulse was elevated at his hearing on February 25. At his age, and with how his body is tolerating the hunger strike and imprisonment, he will not be able to sustain the strike without further compromising his health. It is of the utmost importance that his trial is postponed through the remainder of his hunger strike and that a doctor from our international team visit him in prison,” Genser said.

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Asked how the Armenian diaspora could help, he urged action and reaching out.

“The Armenian diaspora must continue to push for the release of the political prisoners. One place to start is the Free Armenian Prisoners website, which has a section called ‘Take Action.’ I encourage readers to sign the petition and send emails to your ambassador in Baku to encourage trial monitoring, to President Aliyev sharing your concern, and even to Ruben himself expressing your support. Armenian-American NGOs have also been pushing for politicians in the US and abroad to take action on the political prisoners – I would encourage you to support and amplify the work of these organizations, as well as write to members of congress directly to echo these requests and express your concern,” Genser said. “Contrary to people’s belief, the mere fact that Armenia and Azerbaijan do not have diplomatic relations does not mean there isn’t a lot that Prime Minister Pashinyan and his government can do to help. I recently posted on my X account @jaredgenser a detailed list of things they can do (see here). It has been heartening to see that the Armenian foreign minister and his ministry are now speaking out against the imprisonment of the political prisoners. Both Armenians in Armenia and those in the diaspora should thank the prime minister for the changes in his government’s approach to freeing the prisoners and urge him to engage personally.”

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his administration, until this month, were either quiet about the arrest of Vardanyan and seven other Artsakh military and political leaders, or suggested those arrested were somehow at fault. In March, both Pashinyan and Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan have called for the release of those imprisoned in Azerbaijan on political grounds.

“It has been disappointing, but we strongly welcome recent statements by Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan calling the process in Azerbaijan against the political prisoners ‘mock trials’ and from Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressing concern about Ruben’s health and hunger strike. I am grateful the government of Armenia is changing its approach and I urge Prime Minister Pashinyan to get engaged personally and to speak out publicly to help bring them out of Azerbaijan,” Genser said.

Until recently, Amnesty International had been quiet on the matter, but within the past month the group issued a statement in support of Vardanyan.

“Amnesty International is and has been a key partner on issues relating to Nagorno-Karabakh and the arbitrary detention of Armenians in Azerbaijan, and we appreciate the work they have done,” Genser said. “We regularly share with them all relevant information on Ruben’s case as updates emerge, have spoken with them about how we can partner to support the political prisoners, and we expect them to continue to report publicly on their findings and to advocate for their release.”

Vardanyan has become a symbol for many, yet he is still a man and one with a loving family.

“It has been incredibly hard for Ruben’s family, as you can imagine. But Ruben’s courage, his strength and his determination to persevere and to prevail has been really inspiring not only to his family but to me as his lawyer and to so many others who care deeply about the people of the Republic of Artsakh. Nonetheless, it is an especially difficult time with Ruben on a hunger strike and the family is very worried about his health and welfare,” Genser noted.

Genser is a human rights lawyer based in Washington. He founded Perseus Strategies. He has been referred to by the New York Times as “the Extractor” for his work freeing political prisoners worldwide. He has served as pro bono counsel to five Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. He also teaches at Stanford Law School and has taught at three other major law schools. He is the author of three books on the UN human rights system, with his most recent book titled The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention: Commentary and Guide to Practice (Cambridge University Press).

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