On the Day of His Death, He Approached the Cell and Said He Was Ready for Battle: Chalabyan on Grigoryan

“We met every day—his cell was right across from mine.” Member of the ‘Rally’ movement Avetik Chalabyan wrote a letter from the ‘Armavir’ penitentiary recounting his acquaintance with producer Armen Grigoryan and their final days spent together in prison.

Chalabyan noted that he had known Grigoryan since 1991, when the medical institute's 'Team of Joyful and Inventive' was playing against Novosibirsk University in Moscow. Chalabyan, as a fan, joined this team and traveled to Moscow with them.

According to Chalabyan, he and Armen occasionally met in Moscow, and they rekindled their friendship in recent years as they both found themselves caught up in the national liberation struggle in different ways.

“In the last two months, Armen and I met every day—his cell was right across from mine, and each day when going out for a walk, Armen would stop in front of our window and greet us. I would approach the window, and we managed to exchange a few words. Every time we promised each other to fight to the end—not just for our own freedom, but against the evil plaguing our country. Every time, Armen would inspire me, joke, smile, and quickly leave under the grim gazes of the other prisoners,” Chalabyan wrote.

On the morning of his death, Armen approached Chalabyan's cell, greeted him, and said he was ready for battle and was going to court.

In the last two months, while in detention, Chalabyan had the “fortune” of daily interactions with various representatives of law enforcement—their judges, prosecutors, investigators, and police officers. “They all understand that in the case of Armen, me, or others like us, they are executing orders that have nothing to do with law and justice, but continue to do so with the obedience of slaves,” Chalabyan noted.

“Armen's fight is unfinished. We must continue it. Armen told me he would fight to the end and not surrender. He truly fought until his last breath and gave the most precious thing he had—his life—for the struggle. However, his fight is unfinished, and we must continue it. The end of this struggle should not mean the end for Armen, for me, or for others like us, but truly for a just, free, and powerful Armenia. Join this struggle in your own way, and do not let the slave inside us win over the free human,” Chalabyan emphasized in his letter.