One free in Yerevan and 8 imprisoned in Baku

Vahe H Apelian

Samvel Shahramanyan and the Eight Baku Prisoners.

Today I received an email message from FREE ARMENIAN PRISONERS, a copy righted site - Copyright (C) 2025. All rights reserved. The email alerted its subscribers that tomorrow, January 17, 2025, at 3:00 PM Baku time, Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian humanitarian and political prisoner, who has been detained illegally in Azerbaijan for over 470 days, faces 42 fabricated charges. He has been denied adequate time to prepare his defense or access to case material in a language he understands and is subjected to falsified evidence and coerced protocols. Some of these charges carry life imprisonment.

Let us be mindful that his trial begins on January 17, 2025, which is Friday, the holy day of the week for Muslims, as Sunday is for Christians. It does not surprise me that his sham trail was purposely set to begin on Friday afternoon after the services at the mosques, much like Sundays. The news of the trial of Ruben Vardanyan, a Christian, will be spread across the world, naturally including the Muslim World.

Let us take a step back and in a chronological order, date what happened during those fateful 52 days, from August 7 to September 28, in Artsakh. 

On August 7, 2023, Tavit Ishkanian was elected speaker of the Artsakh National Assembly.

On September 1, 2023, Arayik Harutyunyan, the popularly elected president, resigned.

On September 10, 2023 Samvel Shahramanyan was elected president by the Artsakh national assembly.

On September 11, 2023, Samvel Shahramanyan gave his presidential inaugural speech to the national assembly. His inaugural speech did not hint at all of the upcoming seismic development or its possibility. On the contrary, it sounded business as usual under new leadership (see the link below).

The abrupt resignation of president Arayik Harutyunyan was very concerning. But some Armenian pundits in the Diaspora welcomed the change of Artsakh governance and one of Diaspora’s most ardent partisan “analyst”, Sarkis Mahserejian, likened the change, in the ARF media, to a snow ball that he hoped will continue rolling down and take over or roll over Yerevan.

 But..

From September 17 -20, 2023, Artsakh capitulated and the exodus of the Armenians began, abandoning historic and the legendary Mountainous Karabagh. The historic stronghold of the Davit Beg and Mkhitar Sparapet, in a matter of days was completely depopulated of its native Armenian inhabitants it had on its soil throughout history. 

On September 28, 2023, Artsakh President Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree by which Nagorno Karabakh would ceases to exist from January 1, 2024. It is obvious that it was an unconditional surrender.

On that day or a day later, Samvel Shahramanyan, the last president of the Republic of Artsakh, with some of his trusted lieutenants, was transferred by a Russian helicopter to Armenia, but the three former presidents of Artsakh, as well as other state and military official, were arrested/kidnapped and taken to prisons in Baku. All together eight of them now face the possibility of life imprisonment in Baku.

Tomorrow, Friday January 17, 2025, Rupen Vartanian, one of the Baku eight, will face his sham trial. As noted, he faces 42 made up charges and some of them do indeed carry life imprisonment. 

Rupen Vartanian’s trial, and the trial of the eight abductees, will also be the litmus test of Diaspora’s political clout. As long as the eight remain in prison, Diaspora has no legitimate claim on commenting on Armenia’s policies. The pundits of the Diaspora, will do a better service focusing on the preservation of the Armenian culture in the Diaspora and nothing else.

 

Link: Recalling Samvel Shahramanyan’s inaugural speech.

http://vhapelian.blogspot.com/2025/01/recalling-history-remembering-samvel_10.html