Home / Armenia / Ethnic Azeri Man Released After Being Held for 2 Months in Armenia

Ethnic Azeri Man Released After Being Held for 2 Months in Armenia

Armenia has released Allahverdi Pelengov, an ethnic Azeri and a citizen of the Republic of Georgia, who was held for two months by the RA National Security Service. The Public Council for the Defense of Pelengov had repeatedly stated that Pelengov’s rights were being violated, noting that the Georgian citizen had been picked up in a place where there is no border as such.

The 44-year-old resident of the village of Burma was detained by Armenian border guards on Aug. 17. Pelengov’s release and return home was announced by the Caucasus Center of Peace-Making Initiatives (CCPMI), which coordinates the work of the Public Council for the Defense of Pelengov in Armenia, citing the defense attorney in this case, Tigran Sinoyan. According to Sinoyan, Pelengov was released under the general amnesty declared to mark the independence of the Republic of Armenia (on Sept. 21).

The criminal case against him was quashed. However, CCPMI notes that human rights violations and the authorities’ inaction on the Armenia-Georgia border continue to remain current issues.

Earlier, in conversation with Epress.am, Pelengov’s attorney Rafik Safaryan said that Georgian media reports that Pelengov was tortured in Armenia are untrue. "He is in good health. He has pleaded guilty for committing the act for which he is being charged. An investigation is underway," the attorney had said.

Defending the Georgian citizen was the Public Council for the Defense of Pelengov, which was established in the village of Tekali, Georgia, from a discussion among locals, human rights defenders, activists, and journalists on Sept. 14. This council was not so optimistic regarding the state of the detainee, as Pelengov was deprived of the right to receive information. The council had appealed to the NSS on several occasions, asking for a meeting with Pelengov but had been refused.

As the Public Council for the Defense of Pelengov's Armenian coordinator, human rights defender Georgy Vanyan had told Epress.am, the council appealed also to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice of both Armenia and Georgia, but it had not yet received a response from any of these government bodies.

On Aug. 22, Vanyan also appealed to the RA Human Rights Defender's Office, asking that a rapid response team of human rights defenders be sent to visit Pelengov. "The only thing the Ombudsman's office did is to call and verify the detainee's nationality," he said.

According to Vanyan, arresting Pelengov indicates an attempt to place the Armenia-Georgia border within the context of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, and Armenian security services do not have the autonomy to prevent this process.

Photo: Baku-APA news agency, taken from Azerbaijan Islamic news site Deyerler.org