Baku Welcomes UNHRC Working Group's Opinion on Ruben Vardanyan Case

"We welcome the Opinion (A/HRC/WGAD/2024/46) of the UN Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which was published on 13 March 2025, rejecting Armenian side’s claims regarding the case of Ruben Vardanyan,” Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement, The Caspian Post reports.

“In its Opinion, the Working Group explicitly rejected Armenian side’s claims that Ruben Vardanyan was arrested for his freedom of expression and political activities. The aforementioned Opinion especially emphasizes that Ruben Vardanyan is accused by the Republic of Azerbaijan of committing crimes such as the death of numerous individuals, large-scale property destruction, financing of terrorism, establishment of illegal armed groups, and other crimes, and was detained on the basis of these charges.

Furthermore, Armenian side’s claims that Ruben Vardanyan was arrested for defending his rights and making statements in this context have been deemed baseless. The Opinion of the Working Group states that freedoms of expression and association are not absolute rights and can be subject to restrictions, for reasons relating, in particular, to national security and public order. According to the Opinion the charges against R.Vardanyan allows to conclude that indeed his actions posed a threat to national security.

At the same time, in response to Armenian side’s claims that actions allegedly invalidating R. Vardanyan’s presumption of innocence were committed during the indictment and trial process, the Opinion states that his arrest is based on reasonable suspicions. Thus, despite Armenian side’s claims that Ruben Vardanyan has been allegedly deprived of his right to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defense and other fair trial rights, the Working Group concluded that these claims were unfounded and confirmed that Azerbaijan ensured legal procedures in accordance with international standards.

Overall, despite Armenian side’s claims before the Working Group that Ruben Vardanyan was arbitrarily detained, the Working Group’s Opinion against these allegations has once again proven that the smear campaign against Azerbaijan regarding his arrest and the judicial process is entirely baseless, and thus Armenian side’s attempt to manipulate international law norms has once again failed,” the ministry added.