Reihan Demitry
BBC South Caucasus Correspondent
Azertac TV
Images of Valdhanyan in Baku’s court appeared to show a bruise on his forehead
Reuben Vardanyan is one of the wealthiest men in Armenia, but his millions are of little use as he face the possibilities of life in a nearby Azerbaijani prison.
Two nearby Caucasian countries have agreed to texts on the historic peace agreement to end decades-old conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh territory, but Bardanyan and 15 other former Armenian leaders are not part of the agreement.
They are on trial in a military court in Baku and are accused of war crimes decades ago.
Vardanyan, a 56-year-old Russian-American entrepreneur, faces 42 accusations, including planning and sailing war, mercenary activities and terrorism.
His photographs in court appeared to show bruises on his forehead, and there were allegations of torture denied by Azerbaijan, claiming that his rights were in custody.
It marks a dramatic downfall for a man who made fortune in Russia and once rubbed his shoulders with celebrities like George and Amal Clooney.
He founded Russia’s first investment bank in the early 1990s and enjoyed the progressive foresightful reputation, a Western-friendly voice in the Russian business community in the 2000s.
However, a 2019 survey by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project said that employees at his investment bank built a financial system that would wash billions of dollars in the mid-2000s.
Vardanyan denied his perception of criminal conduct and was not legally charged.
He spent hundreds of millions of dollars on Armenian charity projects, transforming quiet towns into snowy mountains north of the country and establishing the school with the aim of attracting students from all over the world.
“The school was imagined as an institution that brought Armenia to the world and to the world,” says Adam Armansky, principal of United World College (UWC) in Dilijan.
Border Services in Azerbaijan
Vardanyan (C) was detained in Azerbaijan in September 2023 and attempted to depart for Armenia.
Everything about Reuben Valdanyan changed in September 2022. He decided to move to Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountain region that was part of Soviet Azerbaijan but historically populated.
Armenia and Azerbaijan were already fighting two full-scale wars over the region, which was internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
The first Karabakh War in the 1990s led to the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of peoples Azeris.
Then in 2020, Azerbaijan, supported by Turkey, regained control of the large strip of lost territory, and the Karabakh enclave remained in the hands of Armenian separatists.
Within months of Valdanyan’s arrival, Azerbaijani authorities blocked the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with the Republic of Armenia, exposing the region’s population to severe food shortages.
Vardanyan renounced his Russian citizenship and became the de facto prime minister of Nagorno Karabakh, the Armenians call Artzhu. He used his name, contact information and fluent English speaking ability to raise the light-style awareness of Karabakh Armenians.
“My father interviewed international media in less than 30 years, three months more than all other Presidents Nagorno Karabakh. This clearly stimulated Azerbaijan,” his son David Vardanyan told the BBC.
There was speculation that Baldanyan had moved there to avoid international sanctions imposed on Russian billionaires with ties to the Kremlin.
Baku’s government considered his decision to consider the position illegal.
His son claims he is driven by a desire to help the local Armenians.
“We were having an argument on our last family holiday. I was totally opposed to his decision. It put the whole family at risk. He said he could not live with him, knowing he had done nothing for the Armenians of Karabakh.”
Reuters
The trial of Baldanyan and 15 other former Karabakh leaders has been criticised by critics as the trial of the show
His father’s long-term friend, Ahman Zilabian, said that even the farthest possible possibility of helping the ethnic Armenians remain on the lands of their ancestors is sufficient for him.
“Some people say this is irrational, while others say it’s a hyper-calculated political move. I don’t think it’s true,” he says.
In September 2023, Azerbaijan began a military operation, controlling the entire territory in 24 hours.
The Nagorno-Karabakh leader surrendered and forced over 100,000 ethnic Armenians to leave their homes.
Bardanyan was arrested by Azerbaijani authorities for joining a massive departure to Armenia.
Much of his time has been spent in solitary confinement, his family says.
He has already been on hunger strikes twice, protesting what he calls a lack of a proper judicial process amid allegations of torture.
Fifteen other former Karabakh leaders have also been tried in Baku’s military courts for alleged war crimes committed since the late 1980s.
Vardanyan is dealt separately, but many in Armenia consider all cases to be exams for the show.
Only the main Azerbaijan television channels are permitted to film the exam.
Azerbaijan argues it is in compliance with international legal standards and is responsible for holding to account for those suspected of committing war crimes.
However, last month, Baku’s government ordered the closure of the regional office of the International Red Cross, the only international organization with access to Armenian prisoners.
The European Parliament has adopted a resolution on “illegal detention and false trials of Armenian hostages” and calls for immediate release.
Bardanyan will return to court on Tuesday, but supporters fear his case will be overshadowed by the historic peace agreement that forms between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Details have not been made public yet, but officials say the draft does not include the issue of prisoners regarding the trial or the rights of the Nagorno-Karabakh ethnic Armenians rights to return to their homes.
The failure to mention the prisoners prompted criticism of the government of Nicole Pashinyan, the Prime Minister of Armenia at home and abroad.
However, Arsen Torosian, a civil contract lawmaker for the Armenian Governor Party, believes the issue needs to be resolved separately.
“It is a peace treaty between conflict states with a long history of hatred between each other. I personally believe that completing or signing this peace treaty can create a basis for solving the problem of political prisoners.
Vardanyan warns this is a mistake.
“This is not a trial for me and 15 other people. This is a trial for all Armenians,” he said in an audio message to supporters.
“If we don’t understand this, it’s a huge tragedy because it’s not the end of the story, not the end of the conflict, but just the next stage of the conflict.”
