Russia's Challenge to Armenian Sovereignty: The Detention Debacle

The Armenian branch of the international human rights organization Helsinki Civil Assembly (HCA) reported on 9 April that a Russian citizen was detained by the Russian military gendarmerie in the city of Gyumri, home to the 102nd military base of the Russian Armed Forces.

Anatoliy Shchetin, present in Armenia, is accused of fleeing before being dispatched to the Ukrainian front. The detained deserter was to be secretly and forcibly taken to Russia soon.

In an interview with Radio Free Europe, a lawyer of the Helsinki Assembly, Ani Khachatryan, mentioned that the organization has forwarded a statement about the crime committed by the Russians to the General Prosecutor's Office of Armenia. She points out that Russian law enforcement has no authority to detain individuals in Armenia—Armenian services should deal with such matters.

Previously, in December 2023, Russian gendarmes from the 102nd military base arrested 20-year-old Dmitry Sietrakov for desertion. Without the knowledge of the Armenian authorities, the young Russian was surreptitiously removed from the country - the Russians intended to prosecute him, and he faced up to 10 years in prison.

In February of this year, Armenia's Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, announced that an investigation into the incident was underway and that Armenia "cannot tolerate illegal activities on its territory."

In this manner, as evaluated by the American think tank, Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Moscow is endeavouring to solidify its position and craft a narrative around Armenia's reduced sovereignty. Illegal detentions are happening against the backdrop of the ongoing deterioration of Armenian-Russian relations.

Source: ISW, WP News