Ruben Vardanyan makes final speech at Baku sham trial 

ArmInfo.  Ruben Vardanyan, former state minister of Artsakh and philanthropist held hostage in Azerbaijan, delivered his final statement at the Baku court hearing. He has been held hostage in Baku since September 27, 2023, following Azerbaijan's violent seizure of Artsakh amid the inaction of the  international community.

According to Vardanyan's official social media accounts, during a  telephone conversation with his family, the philanthropist relayed  the content of his final statement at the February 10 hearing.

Refusing to participate in the imitation of justice, Ruben Vardanyan  spoke of dignity, responsibility, and peace, which is only possible  between equals. We present the full text of his speech, unabridged.  "On the 10th, I delivered my closing statement, forbidding the lawyer  from presenting defense arguments, because I believe this wasn't a  trial, but a sham trial, and there was no opportunity for a normal  trial. Therefore, despite all the resistance from the judges, the  lawyer delayed and didn't make any arguments or reasons.  And I spoke  very briefly. I won't repeat myself-I already outlined the key points  in December. But I read one important poem that I'd like to read to  you, and I've read two poems. I want to read one poem that relates  more to Armenia than to where I am.

This poem was written in the early 16th century by the Azerbaijani  poet Fuzuli, translated by Lugovskoy.

The padishah of a golden land bribes people with silver, He prepares  regiments to seize another country, He defeats it with a hundred  intrigues and tricks, But even in this country there is no joy or  peace. And in that disastrous The hour when fate has turned, the  padishah himself perishes, and the country, and millions of people.  Look: it is I, the ruler, the dervish, strong in the armies of words.

A thunderous word is the source of my victory. You see, each of my  words is a giant, drawing strength from truth. If the word so  desires, sea and land will submit to it. And wherever I send it,  honor and treasury are alien to the word. The word, having taken a  country, will imprison no one. All the elements of the universe will  not erase my word, The wheel of treacherous fate will not crush it.  Let the rulers of the world grant me no blessings; In my head there  is a crown of my humble carving. I am free in all things! Whoever you  are, my listener, You must not be a servant for a crust of transient  bread.

Or even for trains of gasoline. What I have said, and I want to say  again, is that we must understand that a long road of peace lies  before us, and it is very difficult. We will need to undergo a great  internal rebirth, to restore ourselves, first and foremost, because  peace can only exist, I repeat, when there are two equal neighbors.  If one humiliates himself before the other, nothing will work, there  will be no peace.

I hope we recognize this and understand that everything depends only  on ourselves, on the extent to which we can restore ourselves,  restore our self-respect, and restore ourselves while preserving the  rationality of the need to truly live in a region of peace. I said in  court, three times, when they tried to interrupt me:  Artsakh was,  Artsakh is, and Artsakh will be, existentially. That it was, is, and  will be.

Then the question isn't the legal form, but that no one can simply  erase this. And I am deeply convinced of this. I said that I will do  everything so that, in our lifetimes, in my lifetime, I hope, the  three leaders of the three parties to the conflict will lay flowers  at the graves of the dead of any nationality, any religion, and  apologize to all the mothers for their children's deaths. I hope this  will happen someday, and it will be done with respect, treating  everyone, each other.

And I'm happy. I said that I represent the Armenian people here in  this court. I fear no punishment or decision, and I'm ready to accept  it completely calmly, because this isn't a court, but a tribunal.  And, unfortunately, they didn't take advantage of the opportunity to  conduct a proper trial that would have truly laid the foundation for  long-term peace. Instead, they staged an incomprehensible,  unprofessional show, which, unfortunately, brought no benefit to  anyone, least of all to the Azerbaijani state. I'm confident."