Ruben Vardanyan conveyed a statement through his family regarding his decision to dismiss his attorney due to the lack of conditions for legal defense and violations of the rule of law
October 22, 2025
“During the court hearing on October 21, I announced my decision to dismiss my attorney, Avraam Berman. This was a forced decision. The blatant violations of international and Azerbaijani legal standards throughout the ongoing proceedings have turned the hearings into an outright farce. Under these circumstances, all procedural opportunities for the defense have been exhausted over the past months.
- I was not allowed to review the case materials or the indictment. Access to the case materials continues to be denied: I still have not been given the opportunity to review the 422 volumes of my case file, and the court has failed to provide official translations of key procedural documents.
- I was deprived of the opportunity to defend myself in court. I was unable to exchange documents with my attorney freely and without prior inspection in preparation for hearings, and I was denied access to audio and video evidence.
- Over dozens of hearings, my counsel and I filed more than 60 motions and applications to the Baku Military Court to challenge egregious abuses of my due process rights. Yet none of the critical motions were approved. At the same time, more than 60% of these motions were simply ignored by the Court. Yet under Azerbaijani law, the Court is required to consider all such motions “without delay,” and act upon, either by granting them or rejecting them, “no later than 3 (three days) after receipt” by the Court.
- Another reason for my decision to dismiss my attorney, as a form of protest against this staged secret and closed military tribunal, was the court’s refusal to summon witnesses who could clarify the circumstances of the case and confirm facts crucial to the defense. The court’s rejection of this motion deprived the process of any remaining semblance of objectivity and fairness.
As time has passed, the situation has only worsened. In this theater of the absurd, the role of the attorney – regardless of his will or efforts – has been reduced to maintaining the illusion of legality in the proceedings. I refuse to take part in this farce. I do not need the illusion of defense – I demand the actual observance of my procedural rights.
Ruben Vardanyan”
