Friday, September 29 2023 15:27

ArmInfo.Lieutenant General Levon Mnatsakanyan was detained some time ago by Azerbaijanis  at the checkpoint on the road from Artsakh to Armenia. Chairman of the Civil Consciousness NGO Narek Samsonyan says.

There were also reports in the media about the detention of former  head of the Artsakh National Security Service, General Arshavir  Gharamyan.

Azerbaijan has not yet disseminated official information on this  matter.

On September 27, Vardanyan's wife Veronica Zonabend stated that in  the morning her husband, Ruben Vardanyan, was arrested and captured  by the Azerbaijani authorities at the border while trying to leave  Artsakh along with thousands of other Armenians.

The State Border Service of Azerbaijan confirmed the fact of  Vardanyan's capture while trying to leave Artsakh, publishing a  corresponding photograph and video from his detention. He has already  been charged with "financing terrorism" and faces up to 14 years in  prison. He rrested for 4 months. The Kremlin, commenting on reports  of Vardanyan's capture, said that if he is a citizen of the Russian  Federation (he announced his renunciation of Russian citizenship in  2022 - ed. note), then the Russian side will ensure his rights. It is  already known that Armenia has applied to the ECHR to obtain  information about the whereabouts of the RA citizen Ruben Vardanyan,  and the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that they are trying to  obtain consular access to Vardanyan.

On September 28, former Artsakh Foreign Minister David Babayan  announced that he was forced to surrender to Azerbaijani law  enforcement officers.