A criminal case has been initiated against former so-called "state minister" of the separatist regime in Karabakh Ruben Vardanyan, the State Security Service of Azerbaijan reported.
What charges Vardanyan facing?
Substantial suspicions were established that Ruben Vardanyan, currently a citizen of Armenia, had committed criminal acts under several articles:
- financing of terrorism (214-1),
- participation in the establishment and activities of armed formations or groups not provided for by law (279.3),
- illegal crossing of the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan (318.1),
Vardanyan's crimes
Vardanyan, as a citizen of a foreign state, illegally crossed the state border of Azerbaijan outside the designated checkpoints in September 2022 with the intent of carrying out terrorist and subversive acts and infiltrated the territory where Russian peacekeepers are temporarily deployed in the Karabakh economic region of Azerbaijan.
He was also involved in organizing activities of illegal armed formations on the territory of Azerbaijan, which conducted raids on institutions, organizations, and individuals, resulting in casualties and other serious consequences. Vardanyan also supplied them with weapons, ammunition, explosives, and military equipment.
Measure of restraint
The service added that a measure of restraint in the form of detention for 4 months has been chosen against Ruben Vardanyan
