Citizens of Armenia and Georgia Kidnap Russian National and Demand Ransom

On July 22, an extraordinary incident occurred in Armenia. At around 07:50, operational information was received by the police's criminal investigation department from the Kotayk regional department and the Hrazdan division, indicating that a Russian citizen had been kidnapped and a large ransom demanded.

According to Shamshyan.com, the victim is Sergei Ferron, a 32-year-old Russian national, who sent messages about the incident to his friend, V. Rudnitsky, also a Russian citizen.

The police determined that Ferron had been kidnapped from a restaurant complex in Yerevan and taken to a hotel complex in Tsaghkadzor, where threats of violence were used to demand that he transfer $650,000.

Law enforcement officials located Ferron, who provided some details about the kidnapping, prompting police to conduct necessary operational and investigative measures. They arrested 22-year-old Nikoloz Atashvili, a citizen of Georgia, and 39-year-old Gevorg S., a citizen of Armenia living in the Gegharkunik region, for unlawfully holding Ferron in Tsaghkadzor.

According to G. Shamshyan's reports, they were found at the “Tseghenik” hotel complex, from where they were taken to the Hrazdan police department. There was also another individual present, a 40-year-old resident of the Kotayk region named Arthur M.

The investigation revealed that the kidnappers lured the victim from the restaurant complex, placing him in Gevorg S.'s Lexus under the pretense of going to Martuni. On the way, they forced the Russian citizen to turn off his phone and upon reaching the “Sonar” restaurant complex on Kamo Street in Martuni, they began issuing threats against him and his family members. They then forcibly put him back into the Lexus and transported him from Gegharkunik to the “Tseghenik” hotel complex in Tsaghkadzor, where they continued to threaten him.

According to the victim, during this time Gevorg S. displayed a firearm and threatened to shoot him in the legs if he did not provide the money. The police are conducting necessary investigative measures to locate Nikoloz Atashvili.

Documents have been drawn up at the Hrazdan police concerning the incident, which along with Gevorg S. and Arthur M., have been submitted to the Kotayk regional investigative department of the RA Investigative Committee, where criminal proceedings have been initiated under the second part of Article 191, point 5, and the first part of Article 335 of the RA Criminal Code. Following the investigator's decision, Gevorg S. and Arthur M. were arrested and taken to the detention facility of the Hrazdan police department.