01:53A rally in support of former Nagorno-Karabakh state minister Ruben Vardanyan who was arrested by a court in Baku on charges of financing terrorism, was held in Yerevan, on Saturday.
Footage shows people marching with flags of Nagorno-Karabakh and placards reading in Russian and Armenian: 'Ruben, we are with you' as well as signing petitions for Vardanyan's release. Yerevan residents were also taking part in the anti-government rally.
On Wednesday, Ruben Vardanyan, who was government minister of Nagorno-Karabakh from November 2022 to February 2023, was detained by Azerbaijani security forces while trying to leave for the Armenian town of Goris.
The next day, the Sabail District Court of Baku arrested Vardanyan for four months. According to the national State Security Service, the politician is accused of financing terrorism, participation in the creation and activities of illegal armed groups and illegal crossing of the Azerbaijan border.
On Thursday, Head of the unrecognised Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree to dissolve all state institutions and cease the existence of the republic from January 1, 2024.
The population of Nagorno-Karabakh was invited to familiarise themselves with the terms of reintegration presented by Azerbaijan and make a decision on the possibility of further residence in the region.
Year-long conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated on Tuesday, September 19, with the beginning of Azerbaijan's counter-terrorist operation in the region. On the same day, Moscow called on the parties to the conflict to declare a ceasefire and start negotiations.
Azerbaijan accused Armenia of 'systematic shelling of its army positions' and announced 'anti-terrorist measures of a local nature' in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry stated that the only way to achieve peace in the region was 'unconditional and complete withdrawal of the Armenian Armed Forces from the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and dissolution of the so-called regime'.
For his part, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan claimed that there were no Armenian Armed Forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the Armenian Foreign Ministry called the events a 'large-scale aggression'.
On Wednesday, Defence Ministry of the self-proclaimed NKR said that its authorities had decided to lay down arms for a ceasefire from 13:00 local time (09:00 GMT). Baku also announced the suspension of its 'anti-terrorist measures'.
Nagorno-Karabakh - formerly an autonomous region of the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, with a predominantly ethnic Armenian population - broke away from Azerbaijan in the final years of the USSR, establishing a self-proclaimed, independent but internationally-unrecognised entity.
Baku claims sovereignty over the territory, and after a major war in 2020 regained control over large parts of the region.In May 2023, the Yerevan government recognised Azerbaijan’s claim to the territory but also called for protection for the region's ethnic Armenians.
Yerevan residents protest against arrest of Nagorno-Karabaks’s former state minister in Azerbaijan
A rally in support of former Nagorno-Karabakh state minister Ruben Vardanyan who was arrested by a court in Baku on charges of financing terrorism, was held in Yerevan, on Saturday.
Footage shows people marching with flags of Nagorno-Karabakh and placards reading in Russian and Armenian: 'Ruben, we are with you' as well as signing petitions for Vardanyan's release. Yerevan residents were also taking part in the anti-government rally.
On Wednesday, Ruben Vardanyan, who was government minister of Nagorno-Karabakh from November 2022 to February 2023, was detained by Azerbaijani security forces while trying to leave for the Armenian town of Goris.
The next day, the Sabail District Court of Baku arrested Vardanyan for four months. According to the national State Security Service, the politician is accused of financing terrorism, participation in the creation and activities of illegal armed groups and illegal crossing of the Azerbaijan border.
On Thursday, Head of the unrecognised Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree to dissolve all state institutions and cease the existence of the republic from January 1, 2024.
The population of Nagorno-Karabakh was invited to familiarise themselves with the terms of reintegration presented by Azerbaijan and make a decision on the possibility of further residence in the region.
Year-long conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated on Tuesday, September 19, with the beginning of Azerbaijan's counter-terrorist operation in the region. On the same day, Moscow called on the parties to the conflict to declare a ceasefire and start negotiations.
Azerbaijan accused Armenia of 'systematic shelling of its army positions' and announced 'anti-terrorist measures of a local nature' in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry stated that the only way to achieve peace in the region was 'unconditional and complete withdrawal of the Armenian Armed Forces from the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and dissolution of the so-called regime'.
For his part, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan claimed that there were no Armenian Armed Forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the Armenian Foreign Ministry called the events a 'large-scale aggression'.
On Wednesday, Defence Ministry of the self-proclaimed NKR said that its authorities had decided to lay down arms for a ceasefire from 13:00 local time (09:00 GMT). Baku also announced the suspension of its 'anti-terrorist measures'.
Nagorno-Karabakh - formerly an autonomous region of the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, with a predominantly ethnic Armenian population - broke away from Azerbaijan in the final years of the USSR, establishing a self-proclaimed, independent but internationally-unrecognised entity.
Baku claims sovereignty over the territory, and after a major war in 2020 regained control over large parts of the region.In May 2023, the Yerevan government recognised Azerbaijan’s claim to the territory but also called for protection for the region's ethnic Armenians.
A rally in support of former Nagorno-Karabakh state minister Ruben Vardanyan who was arrested by a court in Baku on charges of financing terrorism, was held in Yerevan, on Saturday.
Footage shows people marching with flags of Nagorno-Karabakh and placards reading in Russian and Armenian: 'Ruben, we are with you' as well as signing petitions for Vardanyan's release. Yerevan residents were also taking part in the anti-government rally.
On Wednesday, Ruben Vardanyan, who was government minister of Nagorno-Karabakh from November 2022 to February 2023, was detained by Azerbaijani security forces while trying to leave for the Armenian town of Goris.
The next day, the Sabail District Court of Baku arrested Vardanyan for four months. According to the national State Security Service, the politician is accused of financing terrorism, participation in the creation and activities of illegal armed groups and illegal crossing of the Azerbaijan border.
On Thursday, Head of the unrecognised Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree to dissolve all state institutions and cease the existence of the republic from January 1, 2024.
The population of Nagorno-Karabakh was invited to familiarise themselves with the terms of reintegration presented by Azerbaijan and make a decision on the possibility of further residence in the region.
Year-long conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated on Tuesday, September 19, with the beginning of Azerbaijan's counter-terrorist operation in the region. On the same day, Moscow called on the parties to the conflict to declare a ceasefire and start negotiations.
Azerbaijan accused Armenia of 'systematic shelling of its army positions' and announced 'anti-terrorist measures of a local nature' in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry stated that the only way to achieve peace in the region was 'unconditional and complete withdrawal of the Armenian Armed Forces from the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and dissolution of the so-called regime'.
For his part, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan claimed that there were no Armenian Armed Forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the Armenian Foreign Ministry called the events a 'large-scale aggression'.
On Wednesday, Defence Ministry of the self-proclaimed NKR said that its authorities had decided to lay down arms for a ceasefire from 13:00 local time (09:00 GMT). Baku also announced the suspension of its 'anti-terrorist measures'.
Nagorno-Karabakh - formerly an autonomous region of the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, with a predominantly ethnic Armenian population - broke away from Azerbaijan in the final years of the USSR, establishing a self-proclaimed, independent but internationally-unrecognised entity.
Baku claims sovereignty over the territory, and after a major war in 2020 regained control over large parts of the region.In May 2023, the Yerevan government recognised Azerbaijan’s claim to the territory but also called for protection for the region's ethnic Armenians.