Azerbaijan again deported citizen of Russia because of armenian last name.

Azerbaijan denied entry for Russian citizen with armenian last name. 81 years old Olga Barsegyan was born in Leningrad, survived the blockade and is a veteran of the Great Patriotic War, was deported from International airport of Baku. Of course the reason for deportation does not state it was the armenian origin. You can check official scan of deportation document – “other reasons“. That what they call it!

Officially Baku does not confirm the undesirability of entry to the territory of Azerbaijan to persons of Armenian origin, but such practice exists. And this was not the first time and I think not the last.

In 2013, a Russian journalist, Anna Sahakyan was not allowed to enter Azerbaijan, later being even declared a persona non grata for her Armenian family name.

In May 2016, an 8-year-old child with an Armenian surname was denied entry to Azerbaijan at Baku’s Heydar Aliyev international airport.

A Russian citizen, M. V. Uyeldanov (Galustyan) was detained in Azerbaijan over his Armenian origin in July 2016.

An Estonian citizen of Armenian origin was held at the airport in the Azerbaijani capital city of Baku for 12 hours and sent back to Estonia in late March.

The border service and Azerbaijani carriers, as a rule, explain the deportation or refusal to admit safety considerations to the board.

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Justice for peace: Alexander Lapshin’s relentless fight

Alexander Lapshin is bereft. The Israeli travel blogger and journalist has been threatened and homeless for the past 17 months. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) welcomed him while he was visiting Europe and North America to meet human rights activists and organisations. As part of a desperate call for international help and support. 

An exhausting fight for his rights

Lapshin was arrested in Belarus in December 2016 at Azerbaijan’s request for having illegally visited Nagorno-Karabakh, the disputed territory between Azerbaijan and Armenia, while he was on holiday. He was extradited to Azerbaijan, jailed for nine months and attacked, before receiving President Ilham Aliyev’s pardon.

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