Chalabyan: They trying to deprive Armenian people of their leaders`  thought, their future, and freedom to independently choose that  future

ArmInfo.  Today, they are trying to deprive the Armenian people of their leaders' thought and action,  their prospects for the future, and the freedom to independently  choose that future. This message was delivered from Armavir Prison by  Avetik Chalabyan, coordinator of the "Hayakve" movement and public  and political figure, regarding the current situation in the country.

As Chalabyan recalled, more than a month has passed since the current  government deprived him of his freedom. During this month, as the  "Hayakve" coordinator noted, Gagik Tsarukyan, leader of the  "Prosperous Armenia" party, and Aregnaz Manukyan, a member of the  "Mother Armenia" political council, were similarly deprived of their  freedom.

Furthermore, according to him, a criminal case has been opened  against Narek Karapetyan, a member of the political council of the  "Strong Armenia" bloc. Mother Armenia party leader Andranik Tevanyan  and the deputy chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia, Armen  Ashotyan, remain in custody. The freedom of Archbishop Bagrat  Galstanyan, the leader of the "Sacred Struggle" movement, and his  associates, as well as many other Armenians who dared to fight  against this "regime" and the pro-Turkish agenda it is pursuing in  Armenia, has been restricted.

"This regime suffered a defeat in the parliamentary elections held on  June 7. However, colossal administrative resources, external support,  outright theft of mandates, and an artificially high electoral  threshold allowed it to cling to power. Meanwhile, the majority of  our active citizens-approximately 750,000 people-voted against this  regime in one way or another, demonstrating that they no longer  intend to tolerate this regime. In response, the regime resorted to  open violence against literally all its political opponents. Such a  wave of repression is unimaginable in a democratic state. Even in the  history of our country, this is an unprecedented phenomenon: never  before has the 'winning' side unleashed such a large- scale wave of  revenge against the 'losers,' thereby, in essence, demonstrating its  own fears and the inevitability of its imminent downfall," Chalabyan  believes.

He noted that today it is not only they who are deprived of freedom -  the entire country has ended up in prison. "They are trying to  deprive the Armenian people of thought and action, a vision for the  future, and the freedom to independently choose that future. Today,  both in the prisons of Armenia and in the prisons of Baku, our entire  nation is imprisoned-its past and present-and now an attempt is being  made to deprive it of its future as well. It was precisely about such  times that Ernest Hemingway once said: 'Ask not for whom the bell  tolls; it tolls for thee,'" Chalabyan recalled.

The Hayakveh coordinator urged people not to succumb to the  authorities' attempts to mislead the public, including through  fabricated statements from the Investigative Committee (IC). Because,  as Chalabyan noted, it is impossible to believe that such diverse  people, who lived honest lives before entering politics, suddenly all  became criminals. "Their crime is that they spoke out against the  pro-Turkish regime ruling the country; their 'crime' is that they  gave you a choice, representing your right to free expression."  "Therefore, today the bell tolls for each of you, and there's no need  to wait for the day when the Investigative Committee comes for you  personally-in a certain sense, it has already come," warned the  Hayakve coordinator.

In this regard, he called on the country's citizens to rise up and  fight for their freedom and the freedom of their children, just as  their worthy ancestors fought at Sardarapat a hundred years ago, when  the bells of Holy Etchmiadzin rang. "After all, the enemy, having  suffered defeat at Sardarapat, is today attempting to seize our  country from within-through the hands of its proxies. But if hundreds  and thousands of others take the fight today in place of every  Armenian deprived of their freedom, that same enemy will retreat  again. Therefore, today's struggle is the struggle of each of you,  and it is through your free will that our victory will be achieved."  "May God help every Armenian who fights and does not give up,"  Chalabyan concluded.

As a reminder, on June 24, the Yerevan Court of First Instance  ordered Avetik Chalabyan to be held in pretrial detention for two  months. The Investigative Committee previously presented the reason  for his detention, noting that in May 2026, Chalabyan traveled to  meet with officials of another state, during which, through  persuasion and an interest in ensuring the victory of their preferred  political force, he persuaded them to use their official powers,  authority, and the resulting influence to obstruct the free exercise  of the electoral rights of citizens of the Republic of Armenia  eligible to vote in the parliamentary elections held in the Republic  of Armenia on June 7, 2026. Chalabyan denied this and called it a  lie.