The family of Binance Executive, Tigran Gambaryan, has lamented that their son, a US citizen, has been denied bail by a court in Abuja despite meeting all the requirements for bail to be granted on medical grounds.
While pleading with the government to free him, his family stated the Nigerian Government unlawfully detained Gambaryan on February 26, 2024, and that it has now been over 230 days since the former US Federal Agent last saw his wife and family.
The family quoted the EFCC prosecutor as saying that Tigran is being charged because “the 1st defendant (Binance) is operating virtually. The only thing we have to hold on to is this defendant.”
Responding to the decision on the bail application, Tigran’s wife, Yuki Gamabryan, in a statement made available to newsmen on Sunday, said: “We all know that Tigran was never a decision-maker at Binance and that he is entirely innocent, but I am not surprised by this decision.
“It is completely unjust to deny someone in Tigran’s condition the opportunity to seek appropriate medical help, and I just pray that when he is finally released that the damage he is suffering is not permanent. I am exhausted and deeply disappointed, but I will continue to fight for my husband’s rightful freedom.”
In a recent podcast designated with Yaya Jata Fanusie, his wife Yuki stated how she is riddled with the constant fear of losing her husband.
“Tigran is innocent, and he is suffering,” she told the podcaster, as she shared how her five-year-old son does not understand why his father is not home, and recently looked at a plane flying overhead, asking if it was his dad returning home.
The podcast released at the beginning of October discusses how Gambaryan was unjustly detained, and provides commentary from his friends and former colleagues.
As the podcast launched, a truck with images and messages of awareness regarding Gambaryan’s unlawful detainment has been making its way around Washington DC in America.
Yuki Gambaryan pleaded with the US Government to help bring Gambaryan home, saying: “I beg the US Government to recognise officially that Tigran is being unlawfully detained and to take immediate actions against the Nigerian Government unless they release him.”
Also, Gambaryan’s aging mother, Knarik Gambaryan, the statement added, had previously expressed her heartbreak saying: “They are treating my son not like a human,” begging the US Government to help rescue him from Nigeria.
“He’s innocent. Just please bring my son home,” she added.
The statement issued by his family noted that the Nigerian government invited Gambaryan to Nigeria for a meeting and assured him that he would be safe.
His wife in the statement added: “However, during the meeting his passport was taken, and he was made to pack his items from the hotel and was taken to a guest house. There, he was held for almost one month before two sets of charges were brought against him and Binance, when he was then moved to the infamous Kuje prison.
She stated further that: “During this time, Gambaryan has routinely been refused counsel. His medical condition has deteriorated rapidly to the point where he can no longer walk and needs a wheelchair, which he is most often denied.
“His repeated bouts of pneumonia and malaria have taken an incalculable toll on his physical and emotional wellbeing. On the podcast, his wife shared his health struggles, including a new respiratory infection, severe pain due to a herniated disc and his need for a tonsillectomy, which she believes the prison is ill equipped to perform.”
“Tigran has missed countless milestones while in detention including his son’s fifth birthday and first day in school; his own 40th birthday was spent in a Nigerian prison, and he has missed his 15th wedding anniversary too.”
She pleaded with the government to grant her husband bail according to the law.
Sunday Okobi
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