Ex-political prisoner Yarvand Martirosyan cut his veins after a drunken argument — "for the truth". And ended up in a Warsaw psychiatric hospital
Volunteers no longer want to help him because Martirosyan relapses and drinks again.
Yarvand Martirosyan in a psychiatric hospital in Warsaw
Yarvand's voice sounds even and piteous.
— I'm in the hospital… in a mental asylum, — he says at the very beginning of the conversation.
52-year-old Yarvand Martirosyan is the man we have written about before. An Armenian citizen who lived in Vitebsk, in 2024 he received two years in a penal colony for insulting Alexander Lukashenka. That's how, thanks to drunken adventures, he accidentally became a political prisoner.
In December 2025, he, along with other political prisoners, was unexpectedly released and taken out of Belarus.
It seemed like freedom and a new chance. But reality turned out to be much more complicated.
"Didn't understand each other"
After arriving in Poland, Yarvand Martirosyan first lived in a refugee camp. He didn't like it there: he complained that the staff treated him poorly, and he had no one to talk to. In addition, according to him, in the camp conditions, he couldn't see doctors; he had to wait several months for an appointment. Martirosyan tried to register with a cardiologist and a psychiatrist, but without success.
— I wanted to arrange my life, go to doctors under the medical program for political prisoners, get sober. But it's almost impossible there, — he explains.
Eventually, Yarvand contacted a volunteer, who took him from the camp and settled him in a hostel in Warsaw. Martirosyan's private room was paid for three months, but he only lived there for two weeks.
"A conflict happened. We just didn't understand each other. And it turned out that I was the one who was left in a difficult situation on all sides," Yarvand says.
According to him, it all started after a chance meeting with Belarusians in Warsaw. They invited him to celebrate a birthday.
"The weather was good. My guardian said, like, why am I sitting in the room, go for a walk. So I went. I met guys from Belarus who have been living in Poland for a long time, we started talking. They found out I was a political prisoner from Belarus, invited me to a small restaurant. They had vodka, whiskey, and I just drank a bottle of beer," Martirosyan explains.
Later, when Yarvand returned to the hostel, he had a conflict with a Ukrainian neighbor during a smoke break outside. The conversation was about politics and political prisoners. After the argument, the Ukrainian complained about Yarvand to the hostel administrator. She gave Martirosyan a warning: if he was drunk and argued about politics again, he would be kicked out. And she contacted the volunteer who was looking after Martirosyan.
"You let me down"
"Masha (the volunteer — NN) first wrote me an SMS, then called. I explained everything to her as it was. And she said: "You started drinking again, you let me down again, I don't want to talk to you anymore, listen to you, let's end our relationship." I was left in a difficult situation, guilty, couldn't prove anything. Why all this? As if I'm a child or a first grader. I've been through so much in life, I know the rules of life. I have nothing to hide, I honestly explained how and what happened," Yarvand says in a piteous voice and repeats several times: he doesn't understand what his fault is. He claims, he drank and he drank, but he didn't break anything or cause a disturbance.
The next day, when Yarvand sobered up, he opened the door to his room, which is directly opposite the reception, and cut his veins. An ambulance and police arrived. He was rescued, after which he was transferred to a psychiatric hospital.
"I did it for the truth. Because I honestly told how everything was, and still remained guilty," Yarvand explains the reason for his strange act.
"I need a guardian"
Martirosyan has been in the hospital for two and a half weeks. His belongings remained in the hostel; what he has now is covered in blood after what happened. During this time, according to Yarvand, almost no one has visited him.
Martirosyan says he is ready to be discharged, but he doesn't know what to do.
"They should pick me up, I can't go to the hostel in bloody clothes. I'll be discharged on Friday or Monday, if the volunteers manage," he explains.
Yarvand doesn't know exactly what will happen next, but says he absolutely does not want to return to the refugee camp.
"It's Masha or other volunteers who should decide what to do with me next. I don't know anything. When asked how to get back my disability status, they send me instructions on what I need to do, but I don't understand anything. I need a guardian. But for now, no one particularly wants to deal with me," Yarvand says.
According to him, he has already found a psychiatrist and plans to undergo treatment for addiction. He has now been registered as a person with suicidal tendencies and diagnosed with several mental disorders. Martirosyan maintains contact with other released political prisoners; they are learning Polish and gradually returning to normal life.
"I want that too," he assures.
Comments