Russian Journalist Arrested in Azerbaijan for Having Armenian Stamp in Passport

Yuliya Goncharenko, a correspondent for Veliky Novgorod news agency, spoke about her recent visit to Azerbaijan in her report. While crossing the border in Dagestan, Russian border guards raised questions after seeing an Armenian stamp in Goncharenko's passport. Following a certain interrogation, she was allowed to pass into Azerbaijan.

"The fact that having an Armenian stamp in your passport is not a good thing was already clear. Indeed, they say on internet forums that tourists who visit Armenia are allowed into Azerbaijan, but in practice, all four of us – two adults and two children – were immediately arrested," the journalist stated.

Goncharenko noted that initially an Azerbaijani customs officer examined the passport stamps, and then was joined by a second officer. Together, they began interrogating the Russians about their visit to Armenia last year. The border guards were curious about which cities the tourists had visited and where they had stayed. After discovering that they had only stayed at a hostel in Yerevan, they were released but with a warning.

"You see, if anyone offers you to go to Karabakh, under no circumstances should you agree. If you visit Karabakh, your entry into many countries around the world will be banned," Goncharenko quoted the Azerbaijani border guards.

The Russians were compelled to write an explanatory note stating that they had visited Armenia as tourists. This filled-out paper remained with the Azerbaijani border guards.