Armenian Young Man Imprisoned in Baku Transferred to Russia

Marat Ueldanov Galustyan, who spent nearly three years in prison in Baku, has been transferred to Russia and is currently in a detention facility in Makhachkala.

His sister, Mariana Mirzoyan, announced his transfer on her Facebook page and expressed gratitude to those who supported their struggle, including Ara Abrahamyan, the president of the Union of Armenians in Russia.

According to Russian-Israeli blogger Alexander Lapshin, "Baku delayed the extradition issue for three years, likely squeezing some profit from Russia in return."

"Almost in the same way, Lukashenko tried to delay my extradition to Baku in exchange for gas payments. Nevertheless, Marat has been handed over to the Russian side. He will subsequently be transferred to Krasnodar, and I hope the Russian authorities will release him based on amnesty or conditional early release principles," the blogger wrote.

It is recalled that Marat Ueldanov-Galustyan was arrested on June 9, 2016, and has been held in custody in Baku on charges of illegal preparation, production, acquisition, trafficking, storage, and distribution of drugs and psychotropic substances.

The trial of Marat Ueldanov-Galustyan concluded on April 28, 2017, in Baku. The closed trial was presided over by Judge Samir Aliyev. The ethnic Armenian citizen of the Russian Federation was sentenced to eight years in prison.