Armenia detains a Georgian volunteer soldier based on court ruling in Russian-occupied Ukraine
Armenian authorities have detained 29-year-old Giorgi Kinoiani, a Georgian national, based on the decision of the Supreme Court of Russian-occupied Donetsk, in Ukraine. Kinoiani has been wanted by Moscow for fighting in Ukraine against Russia’s full-scale invasion.
On Tuesday, rights advocate Artur Sakunts discussed the basis of the arrest with CivilNet, calling it a ‘dangerous precedent’ and a ‘big international scandal’.
According to Sakunts, the documents provided to the Armenian side include a verdict dated 25 October 2024 by the ‘Supreme Court of the Donetsk People's Republic, sentence in the name of the Russian Federation’.
OC Media has contracted the Armenian authorities, requesting clarification of the arrest and their future steps, as well as the Ukrainian Embassy in Armenia.
On Wednesday, the Georgian Foreign Ministry told OC Media that the Georgian Embassy in Armenia ‘continues to work on this issue with the Armenian side within the scope of [its] competence’ and that it had requested ‘the relevant information from the Armenian side’.
Armenia has not recognised the occupied territories of Ukraine as part of Russia or their independence; on the contrary, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reiterated his stance in February 2024 that ‘Armenia is not Russia’s ally in the matter of Ukraine’.
In 2022, Armenia abstained in a vote to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council and in condemning the invasion at the UN General Assembly. Armenia also opted to abstain on a resolution condemning Russia’s illegal annexation of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine.
The officials involved in the detention case ‘should be immediately dismissed’
The authorities in Armenia confirmed the arrest of the Georgian national on Monday, who had been placed under 40-day detention and was kept in the Vanadzor Penitentiary Institution.
Narek Sargsyan, the spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, told RFE/RL that Kinoiani, who is on an ‘interstate wanted list issued by Russia for mercenary activities’ was arrested on 3 September after being ‘found at the Gogavan border checkpoint’ in the Lori region.
OC Media
Kinoiani was sentenced to seven years in absentia by a court in Russian-occupied Donetsk, according to Georgian news outlet Civil.ge. He had volunteered to fight alongside the Georgian National Legion following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia recognises the legion as a terrorist organisation, and its soldiers as mercenaries — despite the legion being officially integrated into the Ukrainian Army.
The Armenian court, by accepting the decision of the Russian-occupied Donetsk authorities, ‘ignored’ the fact that it was not a member of the UN and the republic was not recognised by Armenia either, CivilNet quoted Sakunts as saying.
According to Sakunts, the Armenian police officer, prosecutor, and judge involved in the detention case ‘should be immediately dismissed at the very least’.
He added that these officials should also face criminal charges ‘for accepting the accusation against a person by a court not recognised by [the Armenian] law, that is, an illegal court, and for both arresting and detaining a person’.
He pointed out that Georgian police had made the opposite decision in the same case, stating that decisions based from a court in Russian-occupied Ukraine could not serve as a legal basis for an arrest.
Sakunts also noted that his organisation, the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly — Vanadzor, plans to take over Kinoiani’s defence and will submit a request to the Prosecutor General to urgently replace the detention measure and secure his release.
It is unclear whether Armenia will hand over Kinoiani to Russia. However, the authorities in Armenia have previously refused to hand over Russian nationals accused of deserting the Russian army or evading the draft.
Armenia had already notified Russia ‘of the discovery of the wanted person’. Russia has 40 days to submit an official extradition request, after which the Armenian Ministry of Justice must make a decision.
RFE/RL reported that Kinoiani’s relatives are concerned he may be extradited to Russia.
