6 Bangladeshis 'detained' in Armenia for ‘illegal border crossing’

FT ONLINE

Armenian law enforcement agencies have reportedly detained six Bangladeshi citizens while entering Armenia from Azerbaijan recently, Armenian media reported on Monday.

On May 8, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) of Armenia issued a statement informing that six Bangladeshi citizens were detained while crossing the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, and they were handed over to the National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia, according to Armenia-based media outlet NEWS.am.

The media outlet shared a video of the six reported Bangladesh nationals.

According to preliminary data obtained by the Investigation Department of the National Security Service of Armenia, on May 8, six citizens of Bangladesh crossed the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and they were captured by the officials of the Defence Ministry of Armenia, a translated version of Armenian National Security Service statement reads.

These people stated that they were going to cross Turkey through Iran to find a job, but they were misled by accident in Armenia.

Actions are being undertaken to investigate the identity of persons, the credibility of the testimony, the real motives of the border crossing, as well as the verification of their involvement in extremist and terrorist groups, the statement adds.

However, there is no official statement from the Bangladesh side yet.