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Pro-Russian blogger, Sputnik Armenia reporter detained for 72 hours

Investigators suspect Badalyan and Gevorkyan of illegal possession of arms. Local media reported that weapons had allegedly been found in their car

YEREVAN, September 8. /TASS/. The Investigative Committee of Armenia detained pro-Russian blogger Mikael ‘Mika’ Badalyan and Sputnik Armenia journalist Ashot Gevorkyan for 72 hours, Gevorkyan’s lawyer Liana Grigoryan has told reporters.

"Ashot Gevorkyan and Mikael Badalyan are kept in the Investigative Department in [the city of] Goris. They were put under a 72-hour arrest," she said. "The defense believes that they have nothing to do with the charges that have been filed."

Investigators suspect Badalyan and Gevorkyan of illegal possession of arms. Local media reported that weapons had allegedly been found in their car.

The head of Russia’s agency for international humanitarian cooperation (Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation), Yevgeny Primakov, wrote on Telegram on Thursday that Badalyan went missing in the southern Armenian city of Goris. According to the Russian official, Badalyan was "abducted by unidentified masked men near a hotel in Goris, at approximately 9:00 p.m. on September 6."

"I’m very alarmed," Primakov continued, adding that Badalyan "has already been arrested before, and even had to spend some time in prison on charges that many people viewed as politically motivated."

Also, Primakov said that the blogger participated in a radio broadcast on the day before his disappearance and "criticized the Armenian government for its anti-Russian policies." "I expect relevant services of the Republic of Armenia to immediately sort out the issue and come up with a comprehensive and transparent response about Mikael Badalyan’s fate and security.".

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