The trial of Ruben Vardanyan, a prominent Armenian businessman and former Minister of State for Nagorno-Karabakh, has sparked protests and deepened anti-government sentiment in Armenia as details of his deteriorating health and allegations of torture emerge. 

The issue of Armenian prisoners in Baku has been a hot topic in Armenian politics since the 2020 war, but the detention of former Karabakh leaders following the mass exodus of the region's Armenian population in 2023 has further strained the situation, with critics seeing political motivations in the Armenian government's inaction on the prisoners' release.

Vardanyan, who was detained by Azerbaijani authorities on 27 September 2023 while attempting to cross into Armenia, faces 42 charges, including terrorism and financing terrorism — allegations which he and his supporters vehemently deny. 

The trial, which began in January 2025, has been marred by allegations of procedural irregularities and violations of Vardanyan's rights. His legal team has filed motions challenging the impartiality of the court, citing concerns about due process violations and lack of transparency. Vardanyan declared a hunger strike on February 19 in protest at what he describes as a "judicial farce". 

Vardanyan's imprisonment has sparked widespread protests in Armenia. Demonstrations have been held outside the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) office in Yerevan, calling on the organisation to intervene on behalf of Vardanyan and other Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan. Protesters have also marched from the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Government House, demanding more robust action from their government. 

Vardanyan's lawyer, Jared Genser, has accused the Azerbaijani government of using the trial as a political tool, claiming that his client has been subjected to inhumane treatment and denied due process. These developments have intensified scrutiny of the Armenian government's response, with critics accusing the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of not doing enough to secure the release of Armenian prisoners.  

It was only after Vardanyan's hunger strike and protests in February that government officials publicly spoke out in support of Vardanyan and other former Karabakh leaders on trial in Baku. Since then, the country's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and other high-ranking officials have assured citizens that the Armenian government is doing its best to release the prisoners, while the lack of public communication about the trials has been their strategy aimed at not jeopardising the safety of the prisoners.

As the most prominent figure currently held in Azerbaijan, Vardanyan has generated the most controversy. Pashinyan has previously claimed that Vardanyan was sent by Moscow, which was seen as an attempt to shift responsibility for the negotiations to the Kremlin. Moscow, however, claimed that it had nothing to do with the case as Vardanyan had decided to renounce his Russian citizenship before moving to Nagorno-Karabakh.