Khankendi "commandant" detained in Armenia (Updated)

A number of Armenian media reported today that the National Security Service of Armenia detained Sarkis Galstyan. He is one of the Armenians who remained in Karabakh after September 2023. 

According to some Armenian sources, the Azerbaijani authorities appointed him as the commandant of Khankendi.  However, the other day he returned to Armenia with his wife and was immediately detained in the town of Goris.  The Armenian National Security Service does not comment on these reports.

As a reminder, Galstyan was one of those urging the Karabagh residents who had left to return and accept Azerbaijani citizenship. Earlier Armenian sources accused him of long-standing co-operation with the Azerbaijani authorities, calling him a traitor.

Sarkis Galstyan, who was transported by the Red Cross from Karabakh to Armenia on March 29, was charged with espionage. As part of the criminal case, Galstyan was charged with espionage and arrested, the Investigative Committee of Armenia reported. Together with Sarkis Galstyan, his wife Margarita Shahnazaryan also moved to Armenia.