Vardanyan served as the number-two official in Karabakh from late 2022 until February 2023. Seven months later, Azerbaijan recaptured the enclave where ethnic Armenians had enjoyed three decades of de facto independence since breaking away from Baku's control in a war that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Azerbaijan on Friday opened war crimes trials against Armenian separatists who led the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region before it was recaptured by Baku in a lightning offensive in 2023.

Karabakh, protests his trial in Azerbaijan, claiming insufficient preparation time. Accused of 42 charges, including terrorism, he maintains his innocence and calls the case politically motivated. Arrested during an exodus,