While Ruben Vardanyan remains held hostage in an Azerbaijani prison in Baku, the Dilijan Municipality has launched legal action to strip his family of long-term rights to manage and develop the city’s central park. The move is being led by a mayor who is a member of Nikol Pashinyan’s ruling party and targets contracts valid until December 2030.
The contracts were signed years ago with the Dilijan Development Foundation, which belongs to the Vardanyan family, and assigned responsibility for rehabilitating and maintaining the central park and adjacent stadium. Although the agreements remain in force, the municipality is seeking early termination through the courts. The case is being pushed by Mayor Davit Sargsyan, who was appointed acting mayor in 2021 by Pashinyan and continues to serve in that role.
Fifteen years ago, the park was divided into privately owned plots, poorly maintained, and widely considered unsafe. The Vardanyan family spent about 1 million dollars to buy back the land and invested more than 4 million dollars to restore the park and its infrastructure. It is now a functioning public space in daily public use.
Since 2012, the family and their partners have invested approximately 236 million dollars in Dilijan, including the Dilijan International School.
According to the Dilijan Development Foundation, construction permits were obtained in 2018, and new development proposals for the park, including a children’s playground, were submitted starting in 2023. None of these proposals were brought before the city council, and no explanation was provided.
Instead, the municipality moved directly to litigation. Mayor Sargsyan has accused the foundation of violating contractual obligations without specifying any breaches or presenting evidence, citing ongoing court proceedings when questioned.
Ruben Vardanyan’s wife has described the lawsuit as pressure on the family, noting that it has already forced the suspension of planned projects. Court records also show that a separate 63 million dram claim filed by the municipality was rejected as unfounded.
