Archive photo. Former state minister of Nagorno-Karabakh Ruben Vardanyan received 20 years in prison by the verdict of the military court in Baku
57-year-old Vardanyan, once a Russian billionaire, renounced his Russian citizenship to take a position in the government of the unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh.
After the war, in which the Armenian side was defeated, he was detained by Azerbaijani law enforcement agencies. The state prosecutor insisted on life imprisonment for Vardanyan, who is accused of more than 40 charges, including financing terrorism, creating illegal armed formations, and violating the borders of Azerbaijan.
Previously, the court had already sentenced Araik Arutyunyan, the former president of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, to life imprisonment; he was in power from 2020 until August 2023.
As it became known, on September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan announced the start of "local anti-terrorist activities" in Nagorno-Karabakh. The next day, the authorities of the region effectively capitulated, deciding to cease fire and disarm.
On September 28 of this year, Samvel Shahramanyan, who heads Nagorno-Karabakh, signed a decree on the termination of the existence of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh from January 1, 2024.
Thus, the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan developed against the backdrop of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, which ended in 2023 when Baku fully restored control over the region.
