Jared Genser, international legal counsel to former Artsakh State Minister, businessman and philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan, has called on U.S. President Donald Trump to fulfill his public pledge to help secure the release of Armenian detainees. He wrote about it on X.

“I urge President Donald Trump to honor the public promise he made to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and secure their release from President Aliyev so they can safely return to Armenia,” Genser wrote.

He also stated that the 20-year prison sentence handed down to Ruben Vardanyan by the Baku Military Court on what he described as fabricated charges is nothing but a mockery of justice.

Genser emphasized that Vardanyan’s only “crime” was defending the right to self-determination of the Armenian Christian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, around 120,000 of whom were displaced to Armenia, becoming victims of what he called ethnic cleansing initiated by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

“The trial itself was a sham, as trying civilians in a military court is unlawful. The proceedings were conducted in secrecy, with numerous procedural violations, including repeated denials of access to counsel and the court’s outright disregard of dozens of motions, which under Azerbaijani law should be reviewed within days.

Moreover, literally all the so-called ‘evidence’ presented by the summoned ‘witnesses’ consisted of hearsay, making its admission unlawful. Each witness claimed that they or their family members had suffered from attacks by Armenian military forces or other armed groups, but the ‘evidence’ linking Ruben Vardanyan to any of this was that they had heard on Azerbaijani state media that he was guilty. That is not evidence.

Therefore, Ruben Vardanyan’s conviction violates both international and Azerbaijani law, and he must be immediately and unconditionally released along with the other 19 Armenian Christian political prisoners and prisoners of war,” the post said.

A court in Baku sentenced Ruben Vardanyan to 20 years in prison.

Former Nagorno-Karabakh President Arayik Harutyunyan was sentenced to life imprisonment. Life sentences were also imposed on former Defense Army Commander Levon Mnatsakanyan, former First Deputy Commander Davit Manukyan, former Artsakh Foreign Minister Davit Babayan and former National Assembly Speaker Davit Ishkhanyan. Former Artsakh presidents Arkadi Ghukasyan and Bako Sahakyan were sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Madat Babayan and Melikset Pashayan were sentenced to 19 years, Garik Martirosyan to 18 years, Davit Alaverdyan and Levon Balayan to 16 years, and Erik Ghazaryan, Gurgen Stepanyan and Vasily Beglaryan to 15 years in prison.