Russian soldiers in Armenia have abducted a Russian citizen suspected of fleeing the country to avoid being drafted into the military, human rights group The Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly (HCA) announced on Tuesday.
Anatoly Shchetin is being held at Russia’s military base in Armenia’s second city of Gyumri, and is scheduled to be repatriated to Russia, the HCA said.
“Once again, Russian law enforcement officers have violated Armenian law by kidnapping a person on the territory of Armenia and detaining him in an illegal prison. Now, they are trying to transfer him to the Russian Federation,” a statement by the HCA read.
According to lawyer Anastasia Burakova, if the Russian authorities had followed legal protocol, they would have been required to submit an official extradition request to Armenia’s law enforcement agencies, who, having approved the request, would have detained Shchetin for deportation themselves.