Masked Individuals Abduct Blogger Mika Badalyan in Goris: Witness Account by Primakov

Blogger Mikael Badalyan has gone missing in Goris, Armenia, near the border with Azerbaijan. According to Evgeny Primakov, head of 'Rossootrudnichestvo', he may have been abducted.

“I have just learned from good friends in Yerevan that pro-Russian blogger and activist Mika Badalyan was abducted by unidentified masked individuals near one of the hotels in Goris on the evening of September 6, around 9 PM. A local resident, a priest of the Armenian Church, witnessed the abduction,” Primakov stated on his Telegram channel.

He explained that on Tuesday, Mikayel participated in a program on Radio Sputnik, where he criticized Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the government for their anti-Russian stance. There has been no official comment from local authorities yet.

Primakov expressed hope that the relevant Armenian authorities would immediately clarify the situation and provide clear and transparent answers regarding Badalyan's fate and safety.

“Pro-Russian blogger Mika Badalyan and Sputnik Armenia columnist Ashot Gevorgyan were arrested in Goris the previous evening, and they are now in the custody of the Committee of Inquiry,” Sputnik Armenia reports.

The media outlet notes that investigative procedures are underway, but the reasons for the arrest have not yet been disclosed.

The Mash Telegram channel reports that the Russian Foreign Ministry is verifying information about the blogger's disappearance, and the official representative of the department, Maria Zakharova, has labeled the situation as a provocation.