- JAMnews
- Yerevan
Armenia did not extradite Russian conscript
“The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Armenia has not received, discussed or approved the petition on the detention, arrest and transfer (extradition) of Dmitry Setrakov to the competent authorities of the Russian Federation,” Lusine Martirosyan, Advisor to the Prosecutor General of Armenia, said, denying the extradition of the Russian citizen.
Dmitry Setrakov, who fled because of the Russian-Ukrainian war, allegedly taken from Armenia to Rostov-on-Don, is in the military police department, as reported by the Russian service of Radio Liberty.
Setrakov faces up to ten years in prison for leaving the unit he served in unauthorized. There is no information yet on how he ended up in Russia. He was detained in Gyumri by military police officers of the Russian base, where he was held until he was taken out of Armenia.
Armenian human rights activists have declared that the Russian military police has no right to detain anyone on the territory of Armenia, including a Russian citizen.
The agreement signed between Russia and Armenia in 1997 regulating the activities of the Russian military base in Armenia stipulates that the base can only detain its own servicemen. Setrakov is not a member of the base.
Armenian human rights activists report that military police appeared at the military base five years ago. At that time, the Russian side assured that their function would only be to observe the internal discipline of the military on the territory of the base.
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Advisor to the Prosecutor General Lusine Martirosyan also said in a Facebook post that the Prosecutor’s Office “has no information about the search for Dmitry Setrakov by the authorized bodies of the Russian Federation and his discovery” on the territory of Armenia.
“The statement of human rights defender Artur Sakunts regarding Setrakov has been sent to the body carrying out operational and search activities in order to verify the information stated therein. After which the issue of opening a case will be discussed.”
Human rights activist Artur Sakunts appealed to the Prosecutor General to “take measures regarding the illegal actions committed by the military police of the Russian military base on the territory of Armenia, as well as to make efforts to prohibit or prevent the possible transfer of Dmitry Setrakov from the territory of Armenia to the Russian Federation.”
The Prosecutor General’s Office considered the application, but no criminal case was opened, and Setrakov has already been removed from Armenia.
On December 9, Artur Sakunts warned that military police officers of the 102nd Russian military base stationed in Gyumri detained Russian citizen Dmitry Setrakov. He received this information from colleagues from a Russian human rights organization, to which Setrakov’s wife had appealed.
According to Sakunts’ report, he was a contract serviceman, but after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war he refused to serve and moved to Armenia.
The human rights activist also called the management of the military base. He received confirmation that the man had been detained. He was told that the base’s investigation department should conduct an investigation, and if found guilty, Setrakov would serve his sentence in the Russian Federation.
The Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Assembly, headed by Sakunts, also appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, reporting about Setrakov’s illegal detention. The human rights organization submitted a demand to the court to apply an urgent measure and oblige Armenia not to extradite Setrakov to Russia.
Human rights activist Artur Sakunts considers the actions of the Russian law enforcement bodies on the territory of Armenia as “encroachment on the legal system of Armenia and Armenia as a sovereign state”.
He said that he asked the leadership of the military base on what grounds Setrakov was arrested. He was told that “this is an order from Russian President Putin.”
“It turns out that the order of the President of the Russian Federation is valid on the territory of the Republic of Armenia. The order of the president of any country cannot obtain in another sovereign state. In such a situation, the security of thousands of other Russian citizens sheltering in Armenia is also under threat,” Sakunts says.
According to the human rights activist, this is a serious challenge for the Armenian authorities, who have obligations to the Council of Europe, including the protection of the rights of any person on the territory of the country.
https://jam-news.net/armenia-did-not-extradite-russian-conscript/