Political Prisoner Narek Samsonyan on the Reaction of the Council of Europe’s Platform for the Safety of Journalists
Head of "Civil Consciousness" NGO, founder of AntiFake.am website, co-author and host of the "Imnemnimi" podcast, political prisoner Narek Samsonyan has published an article from the "Armavir" Penitentiary.
I was informed about the level 1 alert issued by the Council of Europe’s (CoE) Platform for the Safety of Journalists regarding our detention and the seizure of AntiFake.am’s work equipment. This was made possible through the active efforts of the Union of Journalists of Armenia and by referencing the fact-based report of the Center for Armenian Political Rights. First, I would like to record that in our times, receiving such a reaction from the CoE can already be considered "heroism." In this context, I want to express my deep gratitude to the Union of Journalists, the Center for Armenian Political Rights, and our team for tirelessly knocking on the doors of Western institutions and conveying the scale of the political persecution being waged against us.
This reaction proves that even the regime's political sponsors cannot turn a blind eye to the ongoing persecution if the work is done correctly. Through this, the Europeans also gain an opportunity for "face-saving" after the regime’s removal, allowing them to claim they reacted and had absolutely no connection to the atrocities of Nikol’s law enforcement system. This reaction from the CoE is undoubtedly an unpleasant surprise for the regime as well, which, catering to Alen Simonyan’s unhealthy ambitions, arrested Vazgen and me for absolutely nothing.
As I have said before, and I insist now, all direct participants in this atrocity will not avoid responsibility in the not-so-distant future. I hope seeing this reaction from the CoE makes them even more convinced of this. In the very end, the regime will dump all legal responsibility for the political persecutions occurring in the country onto the lowest links executing them.
Highlighting the importance of the CoE’s reaction once again, I would like to address those colleagues of ours who sometimes mock, and sometimes reprimand me and those who think like me for submitting appeals, messages, or demands to Western structures in such situations:
Dear colleagues, human rights and democratic values are convictions, while Western structures are institutions that have undertaken the obligation to promote them and prevent encroachments against them. And even if the latter, driven by certain interests, turn a blind eye to cases of violations of human rights and democratic values, the bearers of that value system and convictions must not become disappointed or cease their demands. I am a devout follower of that value system, and even if I were certain that I would receive no reaction, I would still—if only for history’s sake—ceaselessly speak out and demand that these structures fulfill their obligations.
So, the West still has much to say about the violation of human rights and democratic values in Armenia by Nikol’s regime, perhaps—and especially—after the regime is toppled.
I am thrice grateful to the individuals and structures involved in making the CoE reaction a reality. Stay well, until we meet.
Political Prisoner Narek Samsonyan
"Armavir" Penitentiary, 12.12.2025
