BAKU: Azerbaijan announced on Wednesday that it had apprehended a former separatist leader from Nagorno-Karabakh as he attempted to enter Armenia following the recent offensive by Baku. The Azerbaijani state border service reported that Ruben Vardanyan, a businessman who had served as the head of the Armenian separatist government from November 2022 until February 2023, was detained on the road to Armenia and subsequently handed over to authorities in Baku.
A photograph was released by the Azerbaijani state border service showing Vardanyan, born in 1968, flanked by two security officers holding him by the arms.
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Under the terms of a ceasefire agreement reached last Wednesday, Azerbaijan had agreed to allow separatists who surrendered their weapons to leave for Armenia. However, an Azerbaijani government source told AFP news agency that border guards were also actively seeking individuals suspected of committing “war crimes” who would need to face prosecution. At present, it remains unclear what charges, if any, Vardanyan might potentially face.
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Veronika Zonabend, the wife of Ruben Vardanyan, expressed her distress, stating that her husband had been “arrested and detained by Azerbaijani authorities at the border this morning as he tried to leave with thousands of Armenians.” She appealed for support and prayers for her husband’s safe release through a message posted on his account on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter.
