Rights defenders from five countries call on the Armenian authorities to free Salman Sever

Seven human rights organizations from different countries have called to release Bogdan Kalyussky, also known as Salman Sever, a Ukrainian citizen, a Muslim activist and a blogger, arrested in Yerevan.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the Yerevan court arrested Salman Sever (known in Russian under the name of Maxim Baidak) for two months on suspicion of forging documents and crossing the Armenian border illegally. Armenian law enforcers treated his passport issued in the name of Bogdan Kalyussky as fake, although the activist officially changed his name after upon receiving Ukrainian citizenship in 2016.

Rights defenders from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Moldova have joined the statement of the Vanadzor Office of the Helsinki Civil Assembly, demanding to stop prosecuting Bogdan Kalyussky, Arthur Sakunts, a rights defender and the head of the Vanadzor Office, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"Given the facts that Russian activists and oppositionists are subjected to persecutions and violence, and inhuman treatment of inmates of Russian jails, as well as given the fact that the criminal case brought against Kalyussky (Baidak) has a political context, we believe that his possible extradition to Russia will result in Armenia's violation of human rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)," says the statement of the Vanadzor Office of the Helsinki Civil Assembly.

The statement in support of Bogdan Kalyussky is open; and all the interested human rights organizations and individuals can join it, said Arthur Sakunts.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.