Azerbaijani court extends detention period for Armenian separatist

A ruling has been made in the ongoing criminal case against Armenian separatist Ruben Vardanyan by the Sabail District Court in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku. 

The court has extended Vardanyan's detention period. Serious suspicions have been established regarding Vardanyan's involvement in criminal activities, which are outlined in the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan under articles 214-1 (financing terrorism), 279.3 (participation in the formation and activities of armed groups not authorized by law), and 318.1 (illegal crossing of the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan), Caliber.Az reports via local media. 

In recent months, several international organisations and foreign media outlets have published extensive investigative reports exposing money laundering mechanisms across various countries and other activities associated with Ruben Vardanyan, who is known as the only billionaire with Armenian citizenship.

Vardanyan renounced his Russian citizenship in favour of Armenian citizenship and was appointed so-called "Minister of State" in the self-proclaimed "Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh". Vardanyan was detained in Karabakh in 2023 and brought to Baku. 

By Naila Huseynova