— Asbarez: ARS 9th International Cruise Sails to AsiaThe Armenian Relief Society’s 9th International Cruise embarked from Singapore aboard Royal Caribbean’s “Ovation of the Seas”, with over 410 participants, on April 17. The cruise was honored by the presence of ARS Central Executive Board Chairperson Ungh. Arousyak Melkonian, CEB’s cruise Committee representative, Ungh. Arminee Karabetian, ARS Cruise committee chairperson, ungh. Shakeh Basmajian and seven committee members. The ARS had organized a two-day tour in Singapore before the voyage began. Participants visited the city’s landmarks and the Armenian Church of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, built in 1835. Everyone gathered beneath the church’s arches, their prayers and hymns bringing new life to a holy place that had not welcomed this many Armenians in so long. Moved by the moment, members of the ARS Central Executive and other participants made donations. ARS Members at the Saint Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Church in Singapore
During this unforgettable 14-day journey, the ship visited picturesque destinations along the Pacific coast of Asia: Singapore, Hue and Da Nang in Vietnam, Hong Kong and Kowloon in China, Taipei and Keelung in Taiwan, and Nagasaki, Kobe, Mount Fuji, and Tokyo in Japan. The ARS Central Executive Board’s Cruise Committee did exceptional work turning this cruise into a memorable experience, bringing Armenians together from nine countries: Eastern and Western USA, Canada, France, England, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Lebanon, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Australia, and Hawaii. The committee created a warm atmosphere of joy and friendship through the many activities it organized. A notable commemoration dedicated to the victims of the Armenian Genocide, marked by a solemn evening through the patriotic performance of renowned singer Elie Berberian and his band. On April 24, while in Keelung, Taiwan, a group of participants gathered in solemn remembrance and released a lantern in honor of the victims of the Armenian Genocide, keeping the memory of our martyrs alive while reaffirming their commitment to dignity and justice. Throughout the cruise, Elie Berberian and his band brought joy and excitement to the passengers with their rich, diverse music at three Kef nights. The committee had organized a Belote competition and a tea party. Both events garnered a lot of excitement, especially the tea party, where 200 participants attended wearing unique and beautiful hats. The ARS Day event drew great interest, offering participants direct insight into the scope of ARS’s global humanitarian work and programs. Participants also enjoyed an excursion to Kobe’s scenic and cultural landmarks organized by the committee. Throughout the cruise, participants expressed heartfelt appreciation to the ARS. Many shared their desire to participate again and were eager to know the location and date of the next cruise. The promotional work carried out throughout the journey, including the daily video updates shared on ARS’s social media pages, was greatly appreciated. Tens of thousands watched the videos, following the group’s excursions and memorable moments. This work was carried out with great dedication by Ungh. Tamar Shahinian from the ARS Public Relations Committee. In appreciation of this essential fundraising initiative organized by the ARS Central Executive Board, heartfelt donations were made in support of ARS’s humanitarian programs. The ARS once again succeeded in bringing together old and new friends, relatives, and fellow ARS members, offering Armenians from across the globe a special opportunity to form new friendships. Some with a longing for the warmth of a familiar Armenian environment, others with the desire to build new connections. The members of this close-knit Armenian community, formed by the ARS, bid each other farewell on May 1, holding onto the hope of reuniting in the future. Established in 1910, the Armenian Relief Society operates in 26 countries, serving the humanitarian needs of Armenians and non-Armenians alike. Through its avowed mission and numerous philanthropic projects, the organization has empowered women to make an impact on their communities and has promoted education, health, and humanitarian aid. — CC: Address Of Pope Leo Xiv To His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos Of The ArmenianThe Holy See, Vatican Your Holiness, dear Brother, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!” (Eph 1:2) With the greeting of the Apostle Paul, I welcome Your Holiness and the distinguished members of your delegation at the start of your visit to the Church of Rome. Could there be a greater spiritual bond between our Churches than the Apostle Paul of Tarsus, born in Cilicia, the place of your See, and who received the crown of martyrdom here in Rome? To Saint Paul, the Apostle par excellence of communion between the Churches, I entrust your pilgrimage to Rome. But how can I fail to mention also the great saints of the Church who worked for Christian unity? My thoughts turn to Saint Nerses the Gracious, Catholicos of Cilicia, who may be regarded as a pioneer of ecumenism – and whose recent inclusion in the Roman Martyrology is a further example of that “ecumenism of the saints” which already unites our Churches. Located at the crossroads of different peoples and cultures, the Catholicosate of the Holy See of Cilicia has long been characterized by its ecumenical vocation, particularly with regard to the Church of Rome. This special relationship between our Churches, which was particularly intense in the Middle Ages, saw new developments in the 20th century and especially after the Second Vatican Council. I am mindful that your venerable predecessor, Catholicos Khoren I, was the first primate of an Oriental Orthodox Church to visit Rome after the Council, as early as May 1967. Yourself, Holiness, stand out for your tireless ecumenical zeal, both locally, as one of the founders of the Middle East Council of Churches, and internationally within the World Council of Churches, where you have held prominent positions. I am deeply grateful for your efforts to foster relations with the Catholic Church and for your closeness to the Church of Rome, which you visited for the first time as Catholicos during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in January 1997, and which you have honoured with your presence on numerous occasions since then. I thank you in particular for your personal commitment to promoting theological dialogue between our Churches, which has been taking place since 2003 within the framework of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. This dialogue, which benefits from the valuable contribution of Armenian delegates, has already published three significant documents on the nature and mission of the Church, on communion in the early Church and on the sacraments. I sincerely hope that, despite recent difficulties, this dialogue will continue with renewed vigour, for there can be no restoration of communion between our Churches without unity in faith. Your presence among us brings to mind the beloved country from which you come and which I had the joy of visiting last December. This land of Lebanon, so dear to my heart, which for so long has shown the whole world that it is possible for people of diverse cultures and religions to live together as one nation, continues to face severe trials. At a time when the unity and integrity of your country are once again under threat, our Churches are called to strengthen the fraternal bonds that unite not only Christians amongst themselves, but also with their brothers and sisters from other communities in their shared homeland. Your Holiness, I assure you of my daily prayers and of the deep concern I feel for the people of Lebanon and for the Churches of the Middle East, to which you will devote a conference during your stay in Rome. In these days leading up to the Solemnity of Pentecost, as we prepare to relive the mystery the miracle of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the nascent Church, I am grateful to be able to pray after this meeting, together with Your Holiness, to the Spirit, Lord and Giver of life, that He may grant us the gift of unity, bestow upon us enduring peace, and renew the face of the earth.
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Armenians who made Los Angeles Business Journal’s LA 500 list as the most infLA500 2026: Ed Bagdasarian – Los Angeles Business Journal
As co-founder and chief executive of Brentwood-based Intrepid Investment Bankers, Ed Bagdasarian has spent more than three decades guiding entrepreneurs through complex middle-market M&A transactions across consumer, health care, technology, manufacturing, industrials and business services. Before co-founding Intrepid, Bagdasarian was a principal partner at Barrington Associates, a respected middle-market M&A advisory firm later acquired by Wells Fargo Securities. He also served as vice president at First Global Securities.
Lia Tatevosian was named Swinerton’s senior vice president and regional manager for Southern California and Hawaii in 2024, after joining the firm nearly 30 years ago as a project engineer. In her tenure, her portfolio includes the UCLA Broad Art Center, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Flight Projects Center, and the Los Angeles International Airport’s gateway light pylons and signage. The firm was named ENR West’s 2025 Southern California Contractor of the Year. Tatevosian is a founding member of Women in Construction Operations in Southern California and is also involved in organizations such as the ACE Mentor Program as well as Architecture and Advocacy.
Reality star Kim Kardashian first stepped into public life with E! reality television series “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” which aired from 2007 to 2021. She then launched multiple fashion and beauty companies that catapulted her to billionaire status in 2021, including her shapewear company Skims Inc., valued at $5 billion. Her beauty company KKW Beauty Inc. has folded into her other company SKKN, which closed in 2025. Going forward, Kardashian is transitioning her makeup business under the larger Skims umbrella. In 2022, Kardashian launched SKKY Partners, a private equity firm, to focus on high-growth consumer and media companies.
Vicken Haleblian serves as the chief executive and managing partner of HCVT, becoming the fifth leader in the firm’s history and succeeding its founder, Phil Holthouse. In this role, Haleblian is responsible for shaping and executing the firm’s strategic vision.
With over 25 years of experience in mergers and acquisitions and equity and debt financing, Paren Knadjian has advised on more than 300 M&A and capital markets transactions totaling over $4.5 billion in value. Before joining the firm, Knadjian was a principal at KROST, where he led the technology market vertical.
Armine Galstyan works at SmartGate VC and Hero House, where she scouts founders working in deep tech sectors like artificial intelligence, robotics and enterprise-grade platforms. SmartGate VC has two headquarters, one in Los Angeles and the other in Armenia, allowing Galstyan to access resources, capital and experts beyond the confines of Southern California. She is a founding member of Hero House, a tech hub based in Glendale that supports immigrant founders of early-stage startups by giving them a space to work and a plethora of networking opportunities. Galstyan operates the GateWay acceleration program in Hero House, which gives startups, universities and local businesses a chance to meet each other, collaborate and develop projects across different sectors..
When Vahe Kuzoyan graduated college, he decided to develop a small-scale software platform to help his father, who worked in the plumbing business, move away from the outdated software he was using. Eighteen years later, ServiceTitan went from a small startup to a unicorn-valued company to a public company. ServiceTitan is a software-as-a-service company that caters to contractors. Through ServiceTitan and its various integrations, contractors and home service businesses can schedule appointments, track inventory, communicate with clients, and even buy materials. The company went public in December 2024, raising $625 million in its initial public offering. In a 2026 trades report, ServiceTitan said that around 75% of contractors that were surveyed view artificial intelligence as a tool to bolster efficiency.
Ara Mahdessian co-founded ServiceTitan in 2007. Mahdessian’s father, who worked in electrical, was the type of person ServiceTitan was built for: those in the trades, specifically home and construction services. During quarter earnings, ServiceTitan announced it crossed $1 billion in yearly revenue run rate. The company is exploring ways to utilize artificial intelligence as a way to automate processes that are currently manual at ServiceTitan. Because ServiceTitan is among the first – and by far the largest – software-as-a-service platform for the trades, the company has amassed a treasure trove of proprietary data. ServiceTitan plans on using that data to create more automated processes within the company. MAY 11, 2026
When Richard Saghian founded Fashion Nova in 2006, the then-Vernon-based company operated out of a handful of brick and mortar stores. Today, the company, now based in Beverly Hills, operates a high-growth e-commerce business that is reportedly worth around $1 billion. The company has been at the forefront of influencer and social media marketing to get the company in front of customers. The company, however successful, has not grown without its controversies. Fast fashion has been admonished for its carbon emissions carryover, which amounts to around 10% of global emissions. The company also settled with the Federal Trade Commission in 2025. The FTC alleged the company was using deceptive review practices that affected what consumers were buying.
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ANCA Mobilizes South Texas Faith Community against Cong. CuellarMailings to Christian Clergy Document Cuellar’s Criminal Indictment, Highlight his Complicity in Anti-Christian PersecutionWASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) – Texas joined with the ANCA national office in launching a campaign to educate faith leaders across South Texas about local Congressman Henry Cuellar’s criminal corruption and direct complicity in anti-Christian persecution. ANCA and ANCA Texas are bringing the case against Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus Co-Chair Henry Cuellar directly to the pews of his own district, mailing comprehensive information packets this week, in English and Spanish, to Christian parishes, faith-based institutions, clerical and lay leaders, and religious influencers across Texas’s 28th Congressional District and the broader South Texas region. The ANCA packets – featuring correspondence in both English and Spanish – document the Federal indictment of Rep. Cuellar and his wife for accepting $600,000 in bribes from Azerbaijani government-controlled entities. A copy of the full 54-page indictment was included in each packet. Also included were materials about Azerbaijan’s genocide of more than 120,000 Christian Armenians from Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), and Baku’s continuing demolition of Armenian churches, monasteries, cross-stones, and sacred sites across the ethnically cleansed lands it now occupies. “South Texas pastors, priests, and parishioners deserve to know the sins of their Congressman against at-risk Christians, who paid him for this betrayal, and exactly how much he got paid – the modern-day equivalent of his thirty pieces of silver,” said Aram Hamparian, ANCA Executive Director. “Henry Cuellar took hundreds of thousands of dollars from a regime that bulldozes cathedrals, desecrates cemeteries, and drove an entire Christian civilization from its three-thousand-year-old homeland. He took that money, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, to block U.S. support for Armenia, to insert pro-Azerbaijan language into our laws, to deliver speeches written by Baku’s allies on the floor of the House of Representatives. Every Christian leader in his district needs to know these facts – and the right to share them with the faithful in their ministries.” A Letter to South Texas’s Christian Leaders The packets, co-signed by Hamparian and ANCA Texas Co-Chair Philip Kanayan, open with a letter written in a spirit of Christian solidarity, framing Cuellar’s bribery not as a distant Washington scandal but as a betrayal of the Body of Christ: “Truly, Congressman Cuellar’s betrayal strikes at the very heart of the Body of Christ. He was charged with pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars, not thirty pieces of silver, but the sins are the same — treachery and greed. The setting: the U.S. Congress, not the Garden of Gethsemane.” The letter calls on recipients to “review the enclosed indictment and prayerfully consider what steps you and your congregation might take to ensure that your parishioners and your neighbors fully understand the depth and significance of this betrayal.” Alongside the letter, recipients receive the full 54-page federal indictment of Henry and Imelda Cuellar, detailing how Azerbaijani diplomats referred to the Congressman as “el Jefe,” tracked his legislative work on Baku’s behalf, and funneled payments through sham consulting contracts and shell companies. Federal prosecutors documented Cuellar’s promises to influence U.S. foreign policy, deliver pro-Azerbaijan floor speeches, insert favorable legislative language, and arrange meetings with U.S. defense officials in exchange for the payments. The packets pair the indictment with a Christian Post op-ed by communications strategist Stephan Pechdimaldji characterizing Azerbaijan’s demolition of the Stepanakert Cathedral as cultural genocide and a direct violation of the International Court of Justice’s December 2021 provisional measures, a National Catholic Register article documenting the demolition of the Armenian Mother Cathedral in occupied Artsakh, and a May 2024 brief from International Christian Concern documenting Azerbaijan’s siege and ethnic cleansing of Artsakh’s Christian population, the destruction of 89 Armenian churches in Nakhichevan between 1997 and 2006, and the broader pattern of forced displacement of indigenous Christian communities. Ground Zero for Foreign Interference “South Texas is ground zero in the fight to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its foreign interference in American democracy, and our Christian community has a particular stake in this fight,” said ANCA Texas Co-Chair Philip Kanayan. “The Azerbaijani regime that bought Henry Cuellar is the same regime bulldozing churches and cathedrals built by Christians a thousand years before Texas was Texas. Pastors, priests, deacons, and lay leaders across this district are going to receive the documentation, read it for themselves, and reach their own conclusions about the man who has represented them in Congress.” In December 2025, President Trump pardoned Cuellar — a decision the ANCA condemned as a free pass for foreign bribery. Days later, after Cuellar announced he would continue running as a Democrat, Trump publicly rebuked him for “a lack of LOYALTY” — making clear that even the president who pardoned him had concluded Cuellar’s word could not be trusted. The ANCA has actively targeted Cuellar through its #ExpelCuellar campaign, calling on the House to vote for his expulsion and on voters to reject him at the ballot box. The faith-community outreach announced today represents the next phase of that work, bringing the documentary record of Cuellar’s conduct, and Azerbaijan’s, directly to the religious leaders and institutions that shape civic life across South Texas. In April, the ANCA endorsed Webb County Judge Tano E. Tijerina in his Republican bid to represent Texas’s 28th Congressional District. Following outreach by the ANCA Texas team, Judge Tijerina, his wife Kimberly, and his campaign team visited ANCA’s national headquarters in the Nation’s Capital on April 22nd, sitting down with the ANCA’s DC staff for a substantive discussion of the full range of priorities advocated by ANCA Texas and Armenian Americans across the Lone Star State, including Azerbaijan’s genocidal ethnic cleansing of Artsakh’s Christian Armenians, the ongoing illegal detention of Armenian hostages in Baku, Azerbaijan’s systematic destruction of Armenian Christian churches, cemeteries, and sacred sites, the right of return for displaced Artsakh Armenians, and justice for the Armenian Genocide.
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CC: Forum Held in New York on Armenians at the UNHarold Takooshian, Fordham University
“How are Armenians involved with the United Nations today?” This question was the focus of an unusual if not overdue forum held on May 15, 2026 at Fordham University in New York City, with 30 Armenians who serve in diverse parts of the United Nations. In addition to the Armenian Mission to the United Nations (since 1992), over 100 Armenians are now scattered throughout the UN system—its governments, agencies (like UNICEF and WHO) and its 6,657 ECOSOC non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This four-part forum began with a welcome message by Bryan Ardouny, the Director of the Armenian Assembly of America, spoke of his new leadership role in the UN Conference on Non-Governmental Organizations (CoNGO) at the UN. Bryan introduced Peter Preziosi who described his role as the new President of CoNGO. Zhirayr Ananyan described his years of diplomatic work with the Mission representing the Republic of Armenia in the UN—a small but immensely active team, especially on human rights. Several others described their diverse roles among the UN NGOs: Emma Arakelyan, Houry Geudelekian, Ani Kalayjian, Souren A. Israelyan, Arpine Korekyan, Talin Daghlian, Harold Takooshian, Anahid Ugurlyan. These messages segued into an open discussion about Armenians at the UN. Due to limited time, many participants suggested to re-gather soon, for more focused discussion of how Armenians can better network across the UN. Forum #2 will be held in June of 2026. During this forum, attorney Bryan Ardouny accepted an Outstanding Achievement Award for his 21 years of leadership at the Armenian Assembly. Harold Takooshian, who edits a series of books with the UN, invited proposals for a timely volume on any aspect of Armenians working with the United Nations. This forum was organized by seven community associations: The Armenian Assembly (AAA), Armenian Bar Association (ArmenBar), Armenian Behavioral Science Association (ABSA), Armenian International Women’s Association (AIWA), Armenian Relief Society (ARS), Meaningful World, and Orion Worldwide Innovations. For any details, contact [email protected].
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168: “And that one voter is you…”. Allah is greatMay 19, 2026 The main companions of pre-election propaganda are deceptions and illusions. The forces participating in the elections sell deceptions, the part of the electorate that judges with their ears, not their brains, responds with illusions. The destruction of the state takes place in the deception-illusion plane, because both the sellers of deception and the self-deceived by illusion do not care about the state. The biggest dealer in scams is the government. Nikol Pashinyan, walking from yard to yard like a circus troupe, sells scams, handing out sweets mocking the map of Armenia as a bonus to those who are particularly foolishly deceived. And it is no coincidence that in the middle of the pre-election campaign, the vocabulary of conversation has dropped not even to the street level, but to the bazaar level. The vulgarity that is increasing day by day in the chain of exchange of governmental deceptions and brainless illusions is not even a market activity, it is a trade that happens in the lowest bazaar, where each side deceives the other, to the point of ignorance of the deceived. These days, Nikol Pashinyan is ringing the bells of the Republic of Armenia with bazaar blasphemy. And he does it with profanity, not only in accordance with his own street character, but also because the spectacle caused by profanity does not allow listeners with headphones to record that in their yards and from their yards, the leader of Armenia is referring pre-election promises not to them, the voters, but to the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. He has already announced in various places that after the elections, he will “return” the so-called “enclaves” to Azerbaijan, from several villages of Tavush to Tigaranashe on the Armenian-Iranian strategic road. This is the main characteristic and defect of the electoral process of Armenia: the government will not be formed by the vote of the voters, but by the will of Azerbaijan, which has been declared the “security guarantor” of Armenia. When we say Azerbaijan, we must understand, of course, first of all, Azerbaijan itself, but at the same time, in a wider geopolitical context, the collective West, in whose interests the re-establishment of Azerbaijani power in Armenia comes from. Thus, Nikol Pashinyan, who came to power with the slogan “and that one person is you” in 2018, has put Armenia in such a position that the election of its leader depends on one person and that one person is Ilham Aliyev. At the moment, the status quo of the political field is such that the election, not in the electoral or procedural sense, but in the political sense, will be considered complete with the participation of that one voter and the vote given by that one voter to the Communist Party, which will become the last phrase of the Armenian bell ringer, who is being presented hysterically from yard to yard these days, sounding like “Allah Akbar” instead of “Amen”…
Arms were exported from Armenia for the first time 10 years ago, it was a piece of equipmentMay 19, 2026 The Facebook post of the former chairman of the Military Industrial Committee, Avetik Kerobyan. I was very happy with the news of arms export from Armenia. But those reporting the news are lying that this is the first time. The first time was 10 years ago, a piece of equipment cost several million dollars, and the buying country was a NATO member. Let me remind those who say “good things” that in the meantime this administration has dissolved the Armenian-Polish joint venture “Lyubava Armenia” and the Armenian shareholder of the Armenian-Greek “LT-Pirkal” joint venture “Laser Technik” CJSC. Poland and Greece are NATO member states, both enterprises worked in the field of military industry. Meanwhile, the military industry committee, under the authority of the Minister of IT, which broadcasts the same news, spent 0 drams in the first 4 months, despite the fact that 850 million was planned for the first quarter alone. — “Restoring drivers’ rights is for personal gain. none of these are safeMay 19, 2026 Many citizens who have been deprived of their driving license for various reasons have protested several times, demanding to restore their right to drive. The other day, Nikol Pashinyan met them during his campaign in Republic Square, and then held a “vote” on his page asking whether they agree to restore the driver’s license of those who have been deprived of a driver’s license. After talking with those people, Nikol Pashinyan also wrote on his page that after “prolonged discussions” they suggested to the people who were deprived of their driving license that 1 year after the deprivation of their driving license, the people who were deprived of their driving license can restore their right without an examination by paying an appropriate fee, after the restoration a one-year trial period is established. For that one year, the driver will be given 6 points. Vahagn Sahakyan, President of the Branch Union of Taxi Services of Armenia by definition, such a decision is complete stupidity. “This is the same thing, if they pardon all the murderers today, they say: OK, go home, maybe you regret it and don’t do something like that again, a drunk driver is a potential murderer. Why did they deprive them of their driving license so that they don’t suddenly kill people? According to my information, the number of people deprived of driving license is more than 30 thousand, this is a catastrophe. Instead, look at what’s happening today: the driver is caught, he doesn’t have a technical inspection, they quickly write a fine, he doesn’t have an APA, which has nothing to do with traffic safety, they write a fine. Let me say more: if there was no safety and security, people’s sense of responsibility would be greater and the number of accidents would not be so high,” said Vahagn Sahakyan in a conversation with 168.am. According to his definition, it is a disaster to restore the right to drive a person who is drunk and sitting at the wheel after being deprived of it, because when a person is sitting at the wheel drunk, the drivers next to it, the citizens on the road do not know that the person sitting at the wheel is not adequate. “It is clear that a person can exceed the speed limit at some point, but if they get drunk and get behind the wheel, to the extent that they catch them and deprive them of their license, then before the elections, they restore their rights for their own personal gain, it is a disaster. Specifically, for me, those 30,000 people are a potential danger, that is, today the leader of this country is ready to endanger me, you and everyone in general, what if those 30,000 people vote for him, it is catastrophic. Today’s so-called head of the country needs an electorate, of course, he will do whatever you say, he will let murderers and drunkards go, and he will tell drug addicts: it’s normal, go quietly, as long as they vote for him,” added our interlocutor. Vahagn Sahakyan answered the question: Can the law enforcement system go against Nikol Pashinyan in this matter? “There is no law enforcement system in Armenia, nor a judicial system, forget about that, the interests of a few people are served here. Adequate people are getting tired of this country, they can’t anymore, when inadequate people decide the fate of the country, the same street people decide the fate of my children and grandchildren through elections, I already doubt whether I did the right thing by staying in this country. These are simply written with “yan”, but if that were the case, “nu pagadi” could also be written with “yan”. “I have lived my life in this country through good and bad, but I don’t know what will happen to my grandchildren if this continues,” stressed V. Sahakyan. Our interlocutor also said that they should not have even discussed this topic, especially when Nikol Pashinyan organized a vote on the topic on his page, it is clear that people who are deprived of driving license will vote. “They are not disciplined, they are not interested in safety, nor the lives of people living in this country, nor traffic safety. This is not something to be done, that they will do this,” emphasized Vahagn Sahakyan. — The trials of Armenians in Baku do not correspond to the moment of fair trialMay 19, 2026 The International Commission of Jurists published a report on the problems of the justice system in Azerbaijan: “Justice under pressure. independence of lawyers and the right to a fair trial in Azerbaijan”. Discussing the many problems and violations existing in Azerbaijan’s justice system, the report analyzed in detail the trials of Armenians tried in Baku in the light of international standards. “The trials against the former officials of Nagorno-Karabakh represent these concerns in their most acute manifestation,” the report states. It is clearly recorded that these trials do not meet the standards of international human rights law. “According to publicly available sources, the trials of Armenians were accompanied by practices that violate the fundamental guarantees of a fair trial. They were held in a military court without any justification as to why military jurisdiction should be applied to civilians. The accused were deprived of the effective assistance of their chosen lawyer. State-appointed attorneys did not respond to the evidence of ill-treatment they personally witnessed. The case materials were either not provided or were provided in a language that the accused did not understand. Defense motions were systematically denied without justification and were not included in the trial records. Translation was inadequate or non-existent, and public access, including to accredited diplomatic representatives, was denied. These systemic flaws show how executive influence, prosecutorial oversight, and limitations on the independence of lawyers can combine to result in trials that do not meet international human rights standards and human rights standards of fair trial, equality of arms, and public scrutiny. As analyzed in this report, these lawsuits are not isolated deviations from established practice, but reflect broader systemic problems,” the report emphasizes. Additionally, it is also noted that the trials were mostly held behind closed doors, only the presence of state media was allowed. international observers, foreign media and family members of the accused were prohibited from attending court sessions; “In the absence of transparency, most of the available information refers to the separate trial of Ruben Vardanyan. Vardanyan took public office in Nagorno-Karabakh only in late 2022, but the prosecutor’s office charged him starting in 1988, despite the fact that he was a student at Moscow State University at the time. Prosecuting Vardanyan for alleged actions in 1988, more than three decades later and only after he assumed public office, raises fundamental concerns from the perspective of the principle of legality. During that period, Vardanyan did not hold any political position and could not have predicted that the alleged actions of those years could later become the basis for criminal charges after starting political activity.” The report presented a number of recommendations to the executive authorities, prosecutor’s office, judicial authorities and the parliament of Azerbaijan. The judicial authorities are urged to “Ensure that any appeal in the cases of former officials of Nagorno Karabakh is examined by a civil court of general jurisdiction.” Ensure the provision of case materials to the defense in a language understandable to the accused and ensure sufficient time and opportunities for the preparation of the defense at all stages of the proceedings, including during the appeal. The report also calls for the Council of Europe to be granted access to consider possible appeal hearings. Ruben Vardanyan, Armenian prisoners in Baku, International Commission of Jurists, justice under pressure, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, mock trial
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Good news about our 2026 summer course!😊Buone notizie riguardo al corso estiv
Title: Good news about our 2026 summer course!😊Buone notizie riguardo al corso estivo 2026!