On 23 March, an Estonian citizen of Armenian origin, Karina Oganesyan, was detained at the Baku airport and later deported, according to Armenian media reports citing Oganesyan’s Instagram account. According to her, she was kept at the airport for 12 hours, after which she was sent back.
Oganesyan is an adviser to the chairman of the Tallinn city council and chairman of the youth wing of the Estonian Centre Party. She went to Baku as part of the Estonian delegation to an international education conference.
According to her Instagram post, Oganesyan was issued an electronic visa and registered as a participant of the event from Estonia.
The press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan told
Turan News Agency
that they are not aware of the detention and expulsion of an Estonian citizen.
For several years the Azerbaijani authorities have strictly restricted visits to the country by people of Armenian nationality. This cannot be done without obtaining the prior consent of the authorities.
In 2016, Armenian human rights activist Vahe Avetian flew to Baku but was not allowed through passport control and ultimately deported.
