"I have committed no crime. I have done nothing for which I should be held legally or even morally responsible," reads the message of the detained Aregnaz Manukyan from the "Abovyan" penitentiary.

"Although you are already aware of the motive and spirit of political persecution, and I imagine you are no longer surprised by the daily repressions, I want to first say the simplest and most important thing: I have committed no crime. I have done nothing for which I should be held legally or even morally responsible. I have done nothing against my homeland and my state, regardless of the delusional assumptions in my fabricated accusation.

I understand that many of you might be confused by the mysterious veil of 'state secrets,' and many of you feel constrained by the mere existence of such an accusation, but I assure you that time and facts will prove my innocence. Therefore, I am grateful to everyone who has not hesitated for a single second to speak out about my political persecution, grateful to everyone who has supported me, and in general to those people who fight day and night for the freedom of political prisoners in Armenia.

There is absolutely no factual basis in the motion to detain me. It is built entirely on someone’s assumptions and vivid imagination. As a result of those assumptions and the political obedience of law enforcement, today I am completely isolated from the world and deprived of even the opportunity to speak with my 13-year-old daughter and 85-year-old mother by phone. This inhumane treatment by the system was as shocking as it was, unfortunately, expected. I bear this willingly as well.

I think people naturally ask: why was I detained only a month and a half after Andranik Tevanyan’s arrest, even though we are charged within the framework of the same 'case'? What was not known about me on May 23 that became known only on July 9? I will, of course, address these questions later.

For now, along with my gratitude, I just want to tell my relatives and those concerned about my well-being that I feel well—spiritually strong and physically robust. Strength, patience, and God’s blessing to our country. Freedom to all political prisoners. Freedom to the Republic of Armenia."