Overview
- Prosecutors had sought a life term for the 57-year-old former state minister, but the court imposed a 20-year sentence.
- Vardanyan was convicted in a military court on charges including terrorism, war crimes and crimes against humanity after a trial that ran for more than a year.
- He was detained by Azerbaijani border guards on Sept. 27, 2023, at the Lachin checkpoint as he attempted to leave for Armenia.
- The judgment extends a wave of cases against former Nagorno-Karabakh officials, with several leaders receiving life sentences earlier this month.
- His family and Amnesty International criticized the closed proceedings and questioned whether the case met international fair-trial standards.