Blogger Ishkhan Verdyan is ready to return from Istanbul to Yerevan for his trial

Baku/13.08.22/Turan: Blogger Ishkhan Verdyan, accused by the National Security Service of Armenia of spying for Azerbaijan, is ready to prove his innocence in court," Verdyan, who lives in Istanbul with his family, said in an interview with Turan.

"I have never violated the legislation of Armenia and Azerbaijan in my public speeches, in every post, and I am ready to prove my innocence in court. And if the judge sends me, for example, to solitary confinement for five years, I will write five books there, and I will not have to work at a factory like now to feed my family," I. Verdyan said.

The blogger lived in Yerevan until last year, but due to an illness for which it was impossible to earn money in Armenia, he was forced to move with his family to Istanbul, where he works at a factory.

"These charges do not contain my full name, the initials I.V. are indicated there, there is no photo of me, and it says that the accused lives in Istanbul, communicated with Azerbaijanis and asks for political asylum. Legally, I am not listed in the text of the accusation, so that the prosecution could back off and say that they meant another person. But if they are so stupid that they will insist on their own, I will prove that this is purely political persecution. If the state guarantees my life, I promise that I will come to Armenia for my trial and prove that there is no such article in the Criminal Code from which it would follow that I have defected to the enemy," I. Verdyan explained.

"It is impossible to find anything illegal in my articles. They are really going to political persecution, and this can be proved in court, even if the judge is bought. This trial will remain in history," the blogger persecuted by Yerevan added.

Criminal cases have been initiated against two Armenian citizens on charges of high treason and espionage. One of the accused had previously fled to Georgia and requested asylum in Azerbaijan, the second – to Turkey, the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia reported on August 12.

One of them is a well-known blogger Ishkhan Verdyan, and the second is a man named Vahe Gambaryan. The Armenian Prosecutor's Office stated that Gambaryan was recruited in 2017 by Azerbaijani intelligence to "conduct subversive activities against the Armenian state, and was in constant contact with the Azerbaijani Embassy in Georgia."

In June of this year, he moved to the territory of Georgia, and in early August he made a video message in which he renounced his Armenian citizenship and asked to be given Azerbaijani citizenship.

As for Ishkhan Verdyan, he lived in Turkey, in Istanbul, where he was also recruited by foreign intelligence, the Prosecutor's office of Armenia assures. He also asked for Azerbaijani citizenship and wished to settle in Khankendi.

"Criminal cases have been initiated in the investigative department of the National Security Service for both episodes," the report says.-0-