Tuesday, September 17 2024 14:50

ArmInfo. Arsen Kharatyan, the former adviser to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the  founder of the Georgian-Armenian media outlet Aliq Media, was denied entry into Georgia. This was reported by Ekho Kavkaza, citing Anna Dolidze, the leader of the Georgian party "For the People".

 The source notes that Kharatyan flew to Tbilisi from Luxembourg and  arrived at the Tbilisi airport from around 4 a.m. Later, Kharatyan  himself published a post on Facebook, stating that the ban on his  entry to Georgia is political in nature: "The problem here is that no  one explained to me the reason why I was denied entry to Georgia,  where I lived for over 5 years, created media, co-founded various  organizations, helped build bridges between Armenia and Georgia, and  more. Georgia was and still is my second homeland, and those who know  me understand how much this refusal means to me. 

At the moment, I have no doubt that this denial of entry, also known  as deportation, is political in nature.  This ultimately means that  the current Georgian authorities are either afraid of people like me,  or have patrons from Moscow or Baku who instruct them to "clear the  space" before the elections," Kharatyan noted. The source also  mentions that several days ago, on September 11, when Kharatyan  arrived in Tbilisi from Yerevan, he was detained at the Tbilisi  airport for several hours. Afterward, he was finally allowed to cross  the border. The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs has not yet  commented on the situation.

According to unofficial information from the opposition TV Formula,  Georgian law enforcement agencies have information that Arsen  Kharatyan was planning to open a TV channel in Georgia with funds  from the United States to promote Western narratives.