Baku Military Court assigns new state-provided lawyer for Ruben Vardanyan PHOTO

The criminal trial of Armenian citizen Ruben Vardanyan, accused of crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes, terrorism, financing of terrorism, and other serious offenses, continued today at the Baku Military Court.

Presiding Judge Zeynal Aghayev, sitting with Judges Anar Rzayev and Jamal Ramazanov (reserve judge: Gunel Samadova), oversaw the open hearing. Vardanyan was provided with a translator for Russian, the language he understands, per Azertag.

Judge Aghayev recalled that during the previous session, Vardanyan requested to dismiss his lawyer, Avraham Berman, citing general dissatisfaction with the trial process. Vardanyan stated that he did not have an agreement with another attorney and expressed no objection to the state assigning him a new lawyer.

The court granted his request to dismiss Berman and referred the appointment of a state-provided lawyer to the Bar Association of Azerbaijan.

Vardanyan has now been assigned Emil Babishov, a member of the Azerbaijan Bar Association, as his new defence attorney. The accused did not raise any objections, and other participants in the trial also confirmed they had no objections.

Judge Aghayev briefed the newly appointed lawyer on the composition of the court and informed that Babishov would have opportunities to meet with Vardanyan both in the detention facility and in court, as well as to review the case materials.

The next session of the trial is scheduled for November 4.

By Khagan Isayev