Christian Sarkis Graham

Philadelphia filmmaker, writer #HigherGroundsMovie

[Christian Sarkis Graham @CSarkisGraham]

This is #HigherGroundsMovie. It’s the film I made with Joe Kramer, and it’s available to watch now.

Might’ve taken longer than any of us expected, but man, I’m really damn proud of this thing, and really grateful to everyone who helped make it happen.

https://t.co/FtMF2TSrr3

[Will 🦥 Menaker @willmenaker]

One of the most evil things imaginable to me

[Christian Sarkis Graham @CSarkisGraham]

@willmenaker

[Christian Sarkis Graham @CSarkisGraham]

@chaplainjoel @mariashriver “Double tap” means it was intentional, and not a mistake. And you just called yourself “the bad guys.”

[Lindsey Snell @LindseySnell]

Aliyev says Azerbaijanis must return to Armenia, "their historical lands." He says Tsarist Russia settled Armenians in the South Caucasus, thus denying that they're indigenous.

Aliyev is implicitly referencing the "Western Azerbaijan" project here, and it's happening more and more as "peace" draws nearer.

This is two years after AZ ethnically cleansed the entire Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, promising that they'd have the "right of return"--a promise that has been abandoned by both sides.

[Christian Sarkis Graham @CSarkisGraham]

This year, annual memorials for the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide fell on the same day.

I wrote a piece about how examining Israeli foreign policy from an Armenian perspective affords a moral clarity deeply needed in our time. https://t.co/aIOBAIJJHA

[Drop Site @DropSiteNews]

REPORT: Biden Officials Admit They Never Pressured Israel for Ceasefire, as Israeli Leaders Boast of Playing Washington

“God did the State of Israel a favor that Biden was the president during this period… We fought [in Gaza] for over a year and the administration never came to us and said, ‘ceasefire now.’ It never did. And that’s not to be taken for granted.”
—Former Israeli ambassador Michael Herzog:

A sweeping Israeli Channel 13 investigation has exposed the Biden administration’s complicity in Israel’s 19-month war on Gaza. Nine top Biden officials acknowledged avoiding real pressure on Israel—even as the death toll surpassed 30,000. Israeli leaders openly bragged they dragged out the war, playing for time until Donald Trump’s return.

Former National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Ambassador Tom Nides, and others defended their unwavering support for Israel—even as they admitted enabling a campaign one U.S. aide described as “killing and destroying for the sake of killing and destroying.”

Here’s what the investigation revealed: 🧵⬇️

[Christian Sarkis Graham @CSarkisGraham]

@PvtSakarium @aniboghoss Cool thanks for clearing that up.

[Will 🦥 Menaker @willmenaker]

This is all nauseating, and I don't want to downplay how threatening this is, but what's going to happen when they find out almost every one they targeted for deportation for not loving Israel enough are US citizens, and of that many are young Jewish-American college students?

[Ani Poghosyan @aniboghoss]

The closing of the @ICRC is a dire development for the Armenian prisoners in Baku. That was the last link that the prisoners had with the outside world as they’re heing tortured, put through sham trials and their rights / freedom completely violated.

[Ani Poghosyan @aniboghoss]

This is nothing more than a weak attempt to justify a political show trial. Vardanyan is not being prosecuted for breaking the law (the audacity of this claim from a dictatorship) - he is being punished for being Armenian and for standing up for the people of Artsakh / thread 🧵

[Christian Sarkis Graham @CSarkisGraham]

Ruben Vardanyan - and all other political hostages illegally detained in Azerbaijan - must go free.

[Ruben Vardanyan @RubenVardanyan_]

The family of Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian political prisoner, has conveyed his message to the international community after a brief phone call, in protest against the staged "judicial" process against him

February 19, 2025

“Yesterday, I have decided to protest by declaring a hunger strike against the judicial farce being carried out against me. This is my response to the blatant violations of Azerbaijani procedural law and international law. What is happening in the courtroom cannot be called a trial – this is a political show, in which my right to a fair hearing is being deliberately disregarded.

For the past month, my local lawyer – Avraam Berman and I have tried to make it clear to the court that it is critical for me that this so-called “trial” be objective rather than a staged performance.  Sadly, it has been clear from the beginning that this case is all about persecuting me as an Armenian simply for exercising my rights to freedom of opinion and expression and political participation under international law,, which have been aimed at protecting the rights of the Armenian-Christian population of Artsakh.

Despite Azerbaijan being a State Party to the European Convention on Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, this process has also been replete with egregious due process abuses:

1. I am being tried in an illegal military tribunal and not a civilian court.
2. I have not been granted full access to the indictment and so called “evidence” against me – 422 volumes in Azerbaijani, for which I was given only 21 working days to review, which have been classified as “state secrets.”
3. The "indictment" presented to me is not an official document, as it lacks the signatures of my accusers. Even the translation of this so-called document contains gross errors, making it impossible for me to understand the charges against me.
4. I have been denied my right to defense – my local lawyer, Avraam Berman, has had his access to materials restricted, his documents confiscated, and he has been subjected to psychological pressure. Further, my international legal team has been barred from communicating or visiting me and has not had access to any of the case materials
5. I have not been allowed to summon defense witnesses or file complaints regarding the violations committed during the investigation and trial.
6. All of the hearings have been secret and closed to the public.  Foreign journalists and independent international representatives have been barred from the courtroom.

This so-called ‘trial’ is not just against me. It is an attempt to criminalize all Armenians – all those who supported and demonstrated compassion toward Artsakh and its people, all those who showed compassion. This is an attack on an entire nation. I refuse to participate in this farce.

I appeal to world leaders, international organizations, human rights defenders, and members of the press:

This process demands your attention. The imitation of justice is an endorsement of lawlessness and injustice. Silence in the face of such violations paves the way for future tragedies, fueling hostility and a new wave of hatred. Only through truth, law, and humanity can peace and justice be ensured in the region”.

Ruben Vardanyan

[Christian Sarkis Graham @CSarkisGraham]

3 years ago, Ruben Vardanyan was an Armenian-Russian billionaire who dedicated all his wealth and influence to serve as Artsakh’s State Minister.

The Azeri dictatorship has illegally detained him since 2023. He is about to stand trial in their kangaroo court. The world is silent

[Ani Poghosyan @aniboghoss]

I see no news on these farce trials anywhere. I have not seen a single NGO or media outlet speak out about this.
This is an abhorrent, audacious scam of a trial in one of the worst dictatorships of the world and nobody is speaking out about it.

[Ani Poghosyan @aniboghoss]

This pretense that Azerbaijan’s accusations against the POWs and Armenian hostages is anything but trumped up charges needs to stop. Somehow it’s clearly wrong when done towards Az dissidents and journalists, but somehow the same dismay is lacking when it’s towards Armenians.

[don hertzfeldt @donhertzfeldt]

"things might seem bad right now, but at least they're not as bad as they will be soon" - my dad

[Rep. Frank Pallone @FrankPallone]

The Azerbaijani "Ombudsperson" is upset because I stood up for Armenia and the people of Artsakh.

Let me be clear: defending human rights & peace isn’t 'meddling'—it’s doing what’s right. Respecting international law means calling out ethnic cleansing.
https://t.co/U2mpTu3Iwl

[Paul Vartan @vartan84]

International actors and corporations are getting more and more spooked by the prospect of #COP29 in Baku, many having second thoughts about going. This is what happens when an extremely flawed host tries to look past all that and hold it anyway for clout.

[Ani Poghosyan @aniboghoss]

It's a total shame that @euronews is whitewashing a country with one of the worst press freedom indexes in the world, instead of advocating for the release of their colleagues from Azerbaijani prisons. Euronews doesn't support press freedom or for journalistic integrity.

[EH #Free Palestine 🍉 @EusraHamid]

📌A thread of GFM campaigns that are slow/stagnant/far away from their target. Please donate and share widely. These campaigns are in need of donations, please help them. I will keep updating this thread In Sha Allah. DM me if you know of any campaign that isn't getting donation.

[Lindsey Snell @LindseySnell]

What message does "Khankendi University," which will soon open in the ghost town of Stepanakert, send to the world? That ethnic cleansing is fine, as long as you're strategically relevant to the West and have oil?