The trial of political prisoner Avetik Chalabyan begins today, July 26 at 1 p.m, taking place at the “Kentron, Nork-Marash” court of first instance of Yerevan (Tigran Metsi Ave., 23/1 building). Judge Mnatsakan Martirosyan, known for controversial cases, will conduct the trial. At the request of the defense team, the trial will be open. It should be noted that Chalabyan’s defense team presented the entire course of the preliminary investigation’s illegalities both with regular press statements and a full report on the illegalities, which was sent to international and local human rights organizations.
At the start day of the trial, Chalabyan’s public defense group suggests looking back at the biography and political views of Avetik Chalabyan in order to understand who Avetik Chalabyan is and why he is subjected to political persecution.
Avetik Chalabyan was born in 1972 in Yerevan, in a family of physicists. In 1989-1994, he studied at the Faculty of Physics of Yerevan State University, which he graduated with an honor. He worked as the head of department at the Ministry of Economy, negotiating and leading Armenia’s membership to World Trade Organization. In 1999-2001 he moved to USA to persuade MBA degree at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, US (2001), which he graduated with honors for Top Academic achievement, becoming the first international student to receive the award.
Read also
After graduating from the university, from 2001 to 2020, he worked in the Moscow office of the world leading consulting company “McKinsey & Company”, where he made his way from a consultant to senior director and partner. At “McKinsey & Company”, he led the firm’s global metallurgical practice and became widely known for his transformational programs aimed at increasing efficiency in global metallurgical circles. He has been a recognized speaker on transformational economy, attending dozens of global industry and economic conferences. 2020-2022 he was a member of the board of directors of the large international metallurgical company “Metinvest”.
Along with his career in international business consulting, he founded and was involved in many development projects in Armenia, particularly in the fields of education, economic competitiveness development, repatriation and defense capacity enlargement. In 2008, he joined the board of the National Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia, in which he played an important role in the adoption by the government of the first plan for the development of tourism in Armenia.
In 2010, he joined Ayb Foundation as a supporter and benefactor. In 2012, he co-founded the Repat Armenia Foundation, which supports repatriation and helps returnees with their professional and social integration. Avetik has been a member of the board of trustees since the foundation’s creation.
In 2013, being concerned about the increasing threats to Armenia’s security, Avetik initiated the creation of the “Arar” Foundation, whose mission is to support the solution of security problems facing Armenia. Since its formation, “Arar” has pioneered and implemented a number of innovations in the field of defense, with a particular focus on the use of modern technologies for servicemen’s safety, civil defense and defense needs. After the war of 2020, “Arar” focused on critical programs aimed at restoring the security systems of Armenia and Artsakh and redeveloping the military-industrial potential.
Avetik briefly worked in politics in 2019, when he founded the “National Agenda” party with several like-minded colleagues and led the development of the political program. In November 2020, after the war, Avetik left the party to focus on the urgent needs of the country’s security.
Avetik Chalabyan is a member of the “Unification” movement.
In September 2020, he and his family finally moved to Armenia for permanent residence. He is married, the father of four children.
Avetik Chalabyan is charged with gross violations of criminal procedural procedures without credible evidence and the act provided for in Article 163, Part 3, Clause 2 of the RA Criminal Code (inciting to participate in gatherings), which has undergone requalification and has been softened by the new grammar that came into force on July 1. by the Code and is generally a criminal act in international legal practice. Arrest was chosen as a preventive measure for Avetik Chalabyan.
“I was arrested in a fictitious criminal case, in which there is no real crime and whose only real purpose is to put undisguised political pressure on me and my friends. Everyone who knows me knows very well that I have not committed any illegal act or even any action that could be against our value system. Any political pressure, any criminal case based on obvious machinations cannot divert me from the struggle for our country and statehood,” Avetik Chalabyan said in his statement from detention.
Avetik Chalabyan’s ideas and point of view presented in one video series
