Guests of Groong Podcast
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Robert Amsterdam
Robert Amsterdam is an international lawyer with over 40 years of experience in high-profile disputes across emerging markets. He is founding partner of Amsterdam & Partners LLP, based in London and Washington, D.C., known for innovative work in complex litigation, arbitration, and white-collar defense involving political and policy dimensions.
He has advised governments, corporations, and political leaders worldwide, including former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, former Zambian President Rupiah Banda, Ugandan MP Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine), Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu, Cameroonian politician Maurice Kamto, and others. He has also represented major corporations such as PricewaterhouseCoopers and Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, specializing in “bet the company” cases and political risk.
Amsterdam & Partners has been recognized for its pro bono human rights work, winning the Global Pro Bono Dispute Award from the American Lawyer for its work in Zimbabwe, and representing opposition figures from Singapore to Venezuela. Amsterdam has also defended high-profile political prisoners, including Mikhail Khodorkovsky of Russia’s Yukos Oil and Venezuelan businessman Eligio Cedeño, both of whom were freed.
His commentary has appeared in the New York Times, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Forbes, and he has been featured on CNN, BBC, CNBC, Bloomberg, and Fox News. Amsterdam is a member of the Canadian and International Bar Associations and a solicitor in the United Kingdom. He studied at Carleton University (BA) and Queen’s University in Ontario (LLB).
He currently represents Samvel Karapetyan, a prominent Armenian entrepreneur involved with the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Rouben Galichian
Rouben Galichian is an author and specialist of Armenia’s maps and borders through 2600 years of history. His works can be found on roubengalichian.com.
Ruben Melikyan
Ruben Melikyan was formerly Artsakh’s Human Rights Ombudsman, and prior to that he was rector of the Justice Academy of Armenia. In 2019, Melikyan co-founded and currently leads the “Path of Law” NGO. Իրավական ուղի in Armenian.
Ruben Muradyan
Ruben Muradyan is a Yerevan-based cybersecurity analyst. He’s an independent researcher, and a frequent speaker on cybersecurity topics on ArmSec, BarCamp.
Scott Horton
Scott Horton is an American radio host, author, and prominent voice in the libertarian antiwar movement. He is the editorial director of the Libertarian Institute and Antiwar.com, as well as the host of The Scott Horton Show, where he has conducted thousands of interviews with experts on foreign policy, war, and civil liberties. He also hosts Antiwar Radio on 90.7 FM KPFK in Los Angeles.
Horton has authored several highly regarded books critiquing U.S. military interventionism, including Fool’s Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan, Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism, and most recently, Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine. Through his writing and broadcasting, Horton has become a leading critic of American foreign policy, advocating for non-interventionism and diplomatic solutions over perpetual warfare.
Sergei Melkonian
Dr. Sergei Melkonian is currently a Research Fellow at APRI Armenia, a Yerevan-based think tank. He served as assistant to President of Armenia, Armen Sarkissian, on foreign policy (Middle East and post-Soviet space). Sergei is also a guest lecturer at Yerevan State University and the Russian-Armenian University.
Setrag Balian
Setrag Balian is a Jerusalemite Armenian activist and co-founder of the Save The ArQ movement.
Sopo Japaridze
Sopo Japaridze is the chair of Solidarity Network, an independent care workers union in Georgia. She has been a labor organizer for over a decade. She researches and studies labor and social relations and writes for various publications. She is cofounder of the Reimagining Soviet Georgia podcast.