Author: Antonian Lara

Israeli held in Armenia in case family says is political payback by Putin

Antonian Lara
The Times of Israel
Jan 29 2022
By TOI STAFFToday, 3:59 pm  
Yan Andrayev (Facebook)

An Israeli-Russian father of two has been jailed in Armenia for the past two months while awaiting extradition to Russia in a case his family said was politically motivated.

The 56-year-old Holon resident, Yan Andrayev, is being held in a Yerevan prison under tough conditions, according to a report this week by Israeli news site Mako, which also published photos of the imprisoned man.

According to the report, Andrayev had in the past served as the mayor of a small Russian town called Tutayev, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) northeast of Moscow. He had been in the post for eight years when Russian President Vladimir Putin sought his political support during one of his presidential campaigns, a request he said he declined. The report did not say when Andrayev was mayor of the town.

Andrayev and his family said the refusal cost him dearly as accusations against him started mounting. His daughter, Karine, told the Israeli site that “Putin made sure to set him up as he did his opponents. He targeted him, claimed that he attacked a police officer, and then produced three more cases of corruption and money [fraud].”

Andrayev’s family said he was eventually acquitted of the cases and returned to his mayoral position. Meanwhile, his family members immigrated to Israel amid fears they could be harmed, while he remained behind. During a visit to Israel in 2011, Andrayev discovered that Russia was seeking his extradition on a case against him for corruption and fraud, according to the family.

Israel refused the Russian extradition request, according to the report, and Andrayev remained in the country and gained Israeli citizenship.

Two months ago, Andrayev traveled to Yerevan on what he thought would be a regular visit but was arrested at the airport. Karine said her father “did not think there would be a problem going to Armenia on an Israeli passport. He checked.” She said he had “convinced Interpol that this was political persecution and his name was removed from their system.”

The family hired local lawyers to defend Andrayev, who is set to appear before a judge next week, according to the report. “Our father is in a very difficult [situation]. He knows that he will be in Russian prisons. We’ve turned to the Foreign Ministry and the ministers but nothing has been done in the meantime,” said the daughter.

The Foreign Ministry told the news site it was in touch with the family.

According to statistics issued by Channel 12 in November, 303 Israelis are currently jailed or detained abroad.

Turkish press: Leader of disbanded far-right group in France sentenced to 1 year in prison

Antonian Lara
Alaattin Dogru   |21.01.2022


PARIS 

The leader of a dissolved far-right group in France was sentenced to one year in prison, local media reported on Friday.

Marc de Cacqueray-Valmenier, the leader of now dissolved Zouaves Paris (ZVP), was sentenced to one year in prison over the June 2020 attack with baseball bats and tear gas at a bar in Paris.

He was banned from participating in demonstrations because of violence at a December rally by far-right presidential candidate Eric Zemmour last year and was detained on Thursday for joining an anti-vaccine demonstration on Jan. 15.

The ZVP was dissolved with a Cabinet decision on Jan. 5 over violence at Zemmour’s rally.

In November 2020, Cacqueray-Valmenier had announced that he joined Armenian ranks in Nagorno-Karabakh to fight Azerbaijanis.

Azerbaijani press: SOCAR dismisses information about purchasing bitumen plant in Armenia

Antonian Lara
OIL&GAS 12:09 (UTC+04:00)


BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan.22

By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:

Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR has dismissed the information about purchasing a bitumen plant in Armenia.

Armenian media reported that allegedly, SOCAR is in talks over purchasing a bitumen plant in this country with Georgia’s mediation.

Ibrahim Ahmadov, deputy head of the public relations and events department at Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR told Trend that such absurd statements are incompatible with the level of SOCAR.

“SOCAR is the global brand of Azerbaijan, the largest foreign investor in Turkey, the largest taxpayer in Azerbaijan and Georgia, a company operating in Europe, and a leading force in major international projects such as the Southern Gas Corridor. We don’t need a bitumen plant in any province. We have no interests in Armenia at all,” he said.

Court rejects request to allow opposition MP Armen Gevorgyan to attend the PACE session

Antonian Lara
panorama.am
Armenia – Jan 18 2022

The Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction denied a motion to allow Armenia’s former Deputy Prime Minister and current MP Armen Gevorgyan from opposition ‘Armenia’ bloc to leave the country and attend the regular PACE session on January 23-29. 

To note, Gevorgyan has been charged with assisting in an ‘overthrow of the constitutional order’ as part of the March 1 criminal probe, as well as corruption and money laundering.       

Gevorgyan’s lawyer Lusine Sahakyan had petitioned the court in December to either remove the restrictions on her client’s free movement or allow him to leave the country from January 24 to 28 to attend the regular session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). Gevorgyan was expected to take part in it as part of the Armenian delegation to the PACE.

The Court, presided by judge Anna Danibekyan, however, didn’t deem it necessary to change the preventive measure imposed on Gevorgyan and instead suggested  that the lawmaker could take part in the session works online. Furthermore, the court informed that on January 25 a court hearing is set in the case of R.Kocharyan and others to which Gevorgyan’s absence is inadmissible. 

Georgyan, in turn, informed that in case he is unable to leave the country, he would need to attend the session online and would not be able to participate in the court hearing. 

Russia supports Armenia and Turkey in establishing direct dialogue – FM Lavrov

Antonian Lara

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 14:41, 14 January, 2022

YEREVAN, JANUARY 14, ARMENPRESS. Moscow supports Yerevan and Ankara in the establishment of a direct dialogue and hopes that it will be successful, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference.

“Armenia and Turkey have appointed their special representatives. Russia helped to coming to that agreement, and we are very happy that today that first meeting is taking place in Moscow. Our role helped to establish a direct dialogue”, the Russian FM said.

The delegations of Armenia and Turkey arrived in Moscow, Russia, where the first meeting of the special envoys of the two countries will take place. Armenia’s special envoy for the dialogue process with Turkey is Ruben Rubinyan, and Turkey’s representative is former ambassador to US Serdar Kilic.




Ombudsman says call for mirrored withdrawal of troops from Armenian-Azerbaijani border ignores human rights

Antonian Lara
panorama.am
Armenia – Jan 12 2022

Armenia’s Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan believes the call of the Foreign Ministry on the mirrored withdrawal of troops from the Armenian-Azerbaijani border ignores human rights.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday that “one of the ways to avoid further escalation of the situation may be the mirrored withdrawal of troops from the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and introduction of an international monitoring mechanism along the border.”

The statement came after the fresh Azerbaijani attack on Armenian combat positions in the eastern border area, leaving three Armenian servicemen killed and two others wounded.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Tatoyan stated Armenia’s official approach is wrong and runs counter to human rights mechanisms.

“It begs the question where to and where from our forces should withdraw. The line of contact runs through the homes and land plots of our citizens in many areas,” he noted.

The ombudsman urged Armenian military and political officials to stop considering issues related to border security and human rights protection only from a political and military perspective, stating the issue of people’s security cannot be “separated’ from them.

“Our state policy must be based on human rights protection mechanisms,” he said.

Tatoyan reiterated that the real cause of all ceasefire violations by Azerbaijan is its state-sponsored policy of Armenophobia and enmity.

He stated the policy of Armenophobia will not end because it is the source of the political life of the Azerbaijani authorities and the guarantee of Azerbaijani officials’ political life. It is used by Azerbaijani authorities to distract their people from their own problems, he explained.

“In the current circumstances, all peace-loving statements made by Azerbaijan are false,” Tatoyan said.

“Without guarantees for the protection of our rights, we may face bigger problems. In this regard, I would like to note that the main guarantee is the withdrawal of Azerbaijani forces, which must be substantiated by human rights protection mechanisms,” the ombudsman said.

Turkish press: Russian, Kazakh presidents discuss unrest in Kazakhstan

Antonian Lara
Elena Teslova   |08.01.2022

MOSCOW 

The Russian president and his Kazakh counterpart on Saturday discussed the latest situation in the Central Asian nation after massive countrywide protests claimed several lives and caused material damages.

In a phone call with Vladimir Putin, Kazakhstan’s Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed that a videoconference be held between the leaders of Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) members in the coming days — a suggestion backed by his Russian counterpart, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Thanking Russia and the other members of the CSTO for their support, the Kazakh president informed Putin of the developments in the country, noting that the situation was stabilizing, the statement added.

Putin voiced support for Tokayev’s proposal and called Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to discuss the situation, said another Kremlin statement.

Both Lukashenko and Pashinyan agreed, with the latter, as the current head of the CSTO, promising to arrange it, the statement added.

The protests in Kazakhstan broke out on Jan. 2, when drivers held demonstrations against an increase in liquefied petroleum gas prices (LPG) in the city of Zhanaozen in Mangystau. The protests later spread to Aktau city 135 kilometers (84 miles) west.

Supportive protests in the western cities of Atyrau, Aktobe, and Oral, where the country’s petroleum and natural gas reserves are located, spread to other areas of Kazakhstan to turn into countrywide public demonstrations.

So far, 4,266 people have been detained, including nationals of neighboring countries, the country’s interior minister said in a statement.

According to the Kazakh Interior Ministry, at least 18 security officers and 26 protesters have lost their lives during the ongoing unrest.

In response, Tokayev declared a state of emergency in the commercial capital Almaty and the oil-rich Mangystau region from where the protests spread to the rest of the country.

Ban on plastic bags enters into force in Armenia

Antonian Lara
Public Radio of Armenia
Jan 3 2022
January 3, 2022, 10:48

 Less than a minute

From January 1, stores will no longer offer plastic bags. The ban applies to 50 micron bags. The sale is prohibited by law.

Before the law came into force, some businesses had already switched to alternative paper bags, and small manufacturers were already offering cloth bags.

From January 1, 2022, an administrative responsibility in the amount of 30 thousand drams is established for the use of plastic bags in trade centers. The next target is to ban the sale of plastic dishes.

Armenia servicemen on charge who were on combat duty on November 16 are arrested

Antonian Lara
 News.am 
Dec 30 2021
11:24, 31.12.2021

YEREVAN. – The Investigative Committee of Armenia continues the investigation of the criminal case opened into the Azerbaijani army carrying out an act of aggression against three Armenian military positions located in the Kilisali-border line Ishkhanasar section of Syunik Province on November 16, violating the norms of international humanitarian law, as well as violating the rules of combat duty or service, along the lines of which two senior officers and two observers of two Armenian combat positions were charged with criminal offenses and remanded in custody, according to the Investigative Committee.

The aforesaid investigation has found out that Captain A. Kh. had violated the law on the approval of the internal service code of the Armenian Armed Forces, the charter on the organization and implementation of combat duty, and the combat charter of the Armed Forces, as his actions had serious consequences.

Captain A. Kh., among several other Armenian servicemen, was returned from Azerbaijan to Armenia Wednesday. A criminal charge has been brought against him, and he has been remanded in custody.

The investigation continues.

Armenia names condition for considering Azerbaijan-EAEU dialogue

Antonian Lara
PanArmenian, Armenia
Dec 25 2021
– 15:59 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenia is ready to consider the possibility of granting Azerbaijan observer status within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Friday, December 24.

Pashinyan made the remarks during a virtual press conference on Friday, maintaining that the matter could be discussed if such an official process is initiated within the EAEU but added that Armenia’s stance will depend on the course of negotiations with Azerbaijan.

“I can’t express a position now. If we see that this step contributes to the opening of a peaceful era, the prospects for the settlement of the Artsakh conflict, the possibility of compromises, it should be in that general context,” the Prime Minister said.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said earlier that the development of a dialogue between Azerbaijan and the Eurasian Economic Union – of which Armenia is a member – would “contribute to the intensification of mutual trade”. Armenian Foreign Minister spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan maintained, however, that such decisions have to be based on a consensus among member states.