ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY DEALS WITH ISSUE OF ARMENIAN CITIZENS ARRESTED IN GEORGIA

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Sept 11 2006

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 11, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Armenian
Foreign Ministry indeed received an alarm call from Tbilisi about
the respective actions of Georgian law-enforcers regarding our
compatriots. Vladimir Karapetian, Acting Head of the RA MFA Press and
Information Department, said that when commenting, at the request of
NT correspondent, on the reports that about 100 Armenian citizens
were arrested in Georgia. He noted that this number has not been
confirmed. V. Karapetian assured NT correspondent that the Armenian
Foreign Ministry is taking all necessary measures. Particularly, the
Armenian ambassador to Georgia applied to the Georgian Foreign Ministry
with the proposal to discuss the matter. The Armenian Foreign Ministry
made the same proposal to the Georgian ambassador. "We anticipate a
prompt solution of the issue," V. Karapetian pointed out. According
to mass media reports, about 100 Armenian citizens violated the
Russian-Georgian border, for which a fine in the amount of about
2 thousand USD is envisaged under Article 334 Part 2 of Georgia’s
Criminal Code, and in case of a repeated violation – imprisonment
for 3-5 years. In the given case, the Armenian citizens entered
South Ossetia and Abkhazia from Russia, as a result of which they
were arrested. An entrance or exit stamp put in the passport as
an indication of visits to the above mentioned territories is an
"evidence", which provides Georgian law-enforces with a ground for
arresting Armenian citizens.