Lopshin: ‘Leaders of Artsakh Have Been Moved to Another Building for a Photoshoot; It’s Staged’

Residents of Armenia absolutely do not understand what Azerbaijan is, who the Azerbaijanis are, and what Aliyev's regime is. In recent days, Azerbaijanis have disseminated "happy" photos of Armenian prisoners, including Araik Harutyunyan, Davit Babayan, and others, who are allegedly reading books in the library, watching television, and even have heating systems in their cells (Araik Harutyunyan's). After that, many Armenians write, "They are all well; they are satisfied with everything, and they are relaxing," and these foolish comments gather dozens of likes from other naive individuals.

Azerbaijani media and Telegram channels widely circulated photos of former Artsakh presidents Arkadi Ghukasian, Bako Sahakyan, Araik Harutyunyan, and former Minister of Defense of the Republic Levon Mnatsakanyan last week. With these, Baku tried to present how well they are being held captive, which, unfortunately, also gained wide traction in the Armenian domain.

Following the Azerbaijani propaganda machine, some Armenians began to denounce and insult imprisoned figures in the Armenian social media sphere. Alexander Lopshin, a Russian-Israeli blogger who felt the “luxury” of Baku's prison on his own skin, responded, as reported by “Pastinfo.”

In his commentary under the photos, he noted that he continues to be amazed by the fantastic infantilism and naivety of many Armenians: “Residents of Armenia absolutely do not understand what Azerbaijan is, who the Azerbaijanis are, and what Aliyev's regime is. Recently, Azerbaijanis circulated ‘happy’ photos of Armenian prisoners, including Araik Harutyunyan, Davit Babayan, and others, who are supposedly reading books in the library, watching television, and even have heating systems in their cells (Araik Harutyunyan's). Many Armenians are writing, ‘They are all well; they are satisfied with everything, and they are relaxing,’ and these foolish comments gather dozens of likes from other naive individuals. People, you do not understand that these are staged photographs. I was held in Baku’s Kurdakhani prison and was taken to a library for photographs for Aliyev’s media. Azerbaijanis gave me a book, told me to smile, otherwise I would be deprived of walks in the prison yard. Then they took the book from me and returned me to a filthy and stinking cell where I was held for a full seven months.

The prison conditions are actually much worse; they have moved them to a medical building for a photo op. The medical building has several elite cells that resemble those seen in the photographs. In normal cells, there is no heating, prisoners freeze in winter, sleeping under tattered Soviet blankets with all their clothes on. There is also no television there, but I was taken to one cell in the medical building where there was a television for the sake of photography.

When I read the nonsense that Armenians write about the ‘happy’ faces of Armenian prisoners, I am simply disgusted by such Armenians. Regardless of the identity of the people portrayed in these photographs (many of whom should be tried for betrayal and corruption), they are indeed in a dire situation and are being used as tools to exert pressure on Armenia. You must understand that Azerbaijan today is no different from the Taliban or ISIS. These prisoners are seriously threatened with torture and death in the Baku prison. Let me remind you that in the same prison, Azerbaijanis half-beat me to death while shouting 'Allahu Akbar,' breaking my arm, fingers, three ribs, jaw, and front teeth. This happened about three months after they photographed me looking ‘happy’ with the book in my hand. The European Court found Azerbaijan guilty of illegal detention, cruel torture, and attempted murder in its decision of May 20, 2021,” wrote Lopshin.