The 29-year-old Giorgi Kinoiani was detained at an Armenian-Georgian border crossing on September 3 while entering the country together with his parents. An Armenian court agreed to place him under a 40-day arrest.
Armenia’s Justice Ministry is due to decide during this period whether or not he will be extradited to Russia. A ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday that it has yet to start examining the case.
“I spoke to the public defender, and he didn't give me any hope,” Kinoiani’s brother Vako told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “He said the risk of extradition is great. It's very scary to know that my brother could be captured by Russia.”
According to RFE/RL’s Georgian Service, Kinoiani volunteered to fight in Ukraine following the 2022 Russian invasion of the country. Last October, a court in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Donetsk sentenced him in absentia to seven years in prison for “mercenary activities” there.
Artur Sakunts, an Armenian human rights campaigner who represents Kinoiani, decried the man’s arrest, saying that it is illegal.
“Does Armenia recognize Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territory?” argued Sakunts.
Kinoiani is apparently the first Georgian national arrested in Armenia in connection with the continuing war in Ukraine. The Armenian authorities previously arrested several Russian men who deserted their military units and/or refused to fight in Ukraine. They refused to extradite most of them, underlining tensions between Yerevan and Moscow.