On September 27, Ruben Vardanyan was arrested by the Azerbaijani border guard service. He was charged with the crimes of financing terrorism, participating in the creation and activities of armed organizations or groups not provided for by law, as well as illegally crossing the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan, provided for by the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.
The human rights defender records that the interference with the fundamental rights of both Ruben Vardanyan and other ethnic Armenians deprived of their freedom by Azerbaijan violates international legal guarantees and standards.
In particular, the State Security Service of Azerbaijan filmed the process of arresting Ruben Vardanyan in detail. After that, several Azerbaijani media outlets published videos and photos depicting the process of arrest, where it is seen how several Azerbaijani officers arrest and transport Ruben Vardanyan. Then, in another picture, two Azerbaijani officers are holding Ruben Vardanyan’s hands, and a masked armed officer stands behind them. In another video, two armed and masked Azerbaijani security officers are transporting Ruben Vardanyan with his hands tied behind his back and handcuffed, his head hanging, filming the whole process.
The Azerbaijani media is widely spreading this video, accompanied by hateful and hostile insults directed at Ruben Vardanyan, calls to kill Armenians, and deep hatred towards Armenians.
It is evident that targeting Ruben Vardanyan and similarly treating him is, among other things, another manifestation of the policy of anti-Armenian and ethnic-based alienation in Azerbaijan.
In this context, it is noteworthy that before Ruben Vardanyan was deprived of his freedom, even the President of Azerbaijan, officials in their speeches, Azerbaijani society, including public figures, and the media were already labeling him as a “thug.”
The defender of human rights emphasizes that in the conditions of the promotion of ethnic identity and the violation of the presumption of innocence, the fundamental rights of Ruben Vardanyan cannot be guaranteed, and the proper examination of the case by the requirements of a fair trial by a fair and impartial court cannot be ensured.
It should be emphasized that the right to a fair trial is enshrined in several international legal documents, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the European Convention on Human Rights. In the context of the right to a fair trial, the European Court of Human Rights considers preserving the principle of innocence in the context of the right to practice in several ways, including the need to maintain that principle by state bodies and the media.
The European Court, referring to the issues of protection of the principle of innocence by the media, has clearly stated that the television footage of the suspect carries the risk of violating the right to a fair trial. Regarding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty within the framework of the right to freedom and personal integrity, the European Court confirmed that the concept of “arbitrary” is not limited to meeting the requirements of national legislation. In any case, deprivation of liberty may be legal only if it complies with the European Convention on Human Rights provisions.
Based on the calculations outlined above and taking into account Azerbaijan’s deep-rooted Armenian-hatred policy, the human rights defender of the Republic of Armenia emphasizes that Azerbaijan’s interference with the fundamental rights of Ruben Vardanyan and other persons was/violates international legal standards, bearing in mind that modern civilized world universally recognized international legal guarantees and standards.
The defender continues to receive alerts regarding interference with the right to freedom and personal integrity by Azerbaijan during the movement from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia through the Lachin Corridor and emphasizes that all the observations mentioned above related to legal guarantees are also applicable to other cases.
The above statement reinforces the fear that under such conditions, no legal process against ethnic Armenians in Azerbaijan can be carried out in compliance with international legal standards regarding fundamental human rights.
Effective measures aimed at properly guaranteeing the fundamental rights of the specified persons, the observance of legal procedures, and the rapid and adequate response of competent authorities and actors with a human rights mandate are essential.
