A group of citizens held a protest near the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Armenia, demanding the return of three Artsakh youths kidnapped from the Hakari bridge checkpoint.
Let’s remember that on August 28, accompanied by Russian peacekeeping troops, a group of students admitted to Armenian universities were being transported from Artsakh to Armenia, of which Azerbaijani border guards and other services near the Hakari illegal checkpoint kidnapped Alen Sargsyan, Vahe Hovsepyan and Levon Grigoryan.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Azerbaijan reported that the young people were detained for disrespecting the flag of Azerbaijan. According to the same source, the young people will be arrested for ten days, after which they will be deported from Azerbaijan.
Read also
Liana Petrosyan, one of the organizers of the demonstration, said that the kidnapping of the boys and the kidnapping of Vagif Khachatryan before show that Azerbaijan excludes peaceful coexistence with ethnic Armenians; therefore, everything should be done to stop the policy of recognizing Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan and to advance the issue of Artsakh self-determination.
The participants of the demonstration presented a demand to the Russian Embassy, stating that the boys were kidnapped in the presence of Russian peacekeepers, the boys went to Yerevan under the responsibility of the Russian peacekeepers: “It is under your fault that the boys are not in Yerevan, not in Artsakh, but in captivity in Baku and no one knows where what is happening to them?
Just as you took responsibility for bringing the boys safely to Armenia, now you are also responsible for returning them from Azerbaijan. We do not give you time to think, wait, negotiate. They should be returned today; tell Moscow, the Foreign Ministry, you should return the boys a day before. That is our demand.”
The participants of the demonstration moved from the Russian embassy to the RA government building because, according to them, the Armenian government is also responsible for returning the boys. During the march, they called on the citizens to join their demonstration and not to remain indifferent.
Nelly BABAYAN
