24 April 2018, 20:18
Salman Sever left under arrest
The Armenian Court of Appeal has refused to release from custody Bogdan Kalyussky, a Muslim activist and blogger, also known as Salman Sever. The decision has been made despite the Ukrainian Ambassador presented the evidence of the authenticity of the documents issued for Bogdan Kalyussky, reports rights defender Arthur Sakunts.
Yerevan court arrested Salman Sever (known in Russia 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.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that rights defenders from five countries called on the Armenian authorities to release Salman Sever and prevent his extradition to Russia, where the activist might be subjected to torture.
On April 23, the court considered the appeal field by Salman Sever, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has been informed today by rights defender Arthur Sakunts, the head of the Vanadzor Office of the Helsinki Civil Assembly.
According to him, the Ukrainian Ambassador to Armenia presented documents confirming the legitimacy of the change in the name and surname of the suspect. "Of course, the court has accepted the confirmation as an additional document, but at the same time upheld the decision of the first instance court to arrest Bogdan Kalyussky," noted Arthur Sakunts.
Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.
Author: Armine Martirosyan Source: CK correspondent
