A court in Azerbaijan sentenced former Karabakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan to 20 years in prison. The prosecution was asking for a life sentence for him.

A military court in Baku sentenced the former minister of state of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Ruben Vardanyan.

As the media note, the verdict on more than 40 articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan was announced without a detailed disclosure of the charges. At the same time, the state prosecutor requested a life sentence for Vardanyan.

Vardanyan's family released a statement in which they called the verdict "horrifying, but expected."

“The hearings took place behind closed doors and in conditions incompatible with the standards of a fair trial not only by the standards of international law, but even by the legislation of Azerbaijan,” the statement said.

• Ruben Vardanyan is the former head of the Russian investment company Troika Dialogue and one of the founders of the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo. He renounced his Russian citizenship to head the government of Karabakh.

• After the Armenian side lost the war for the region, Vardanyan was detained by Azerbaijani security forces. The trial in the case began in Baku in January 2025. Novaya published a conversation with the billionaire’s lawyer who defended him in court.