Azerbaijan Arrests Blogger Who 'Attacked' Pashinyan in Milan

Azerbaijan has arrested blogger Ata Abdullayev. According to Sputnik Azerbaijan, the reasons for his arrest remain unclear.

Abdullayev is known for an incident in November 2019, when he entered a church in Milan where Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was meeting with the Armenian community in Italy. The Azerbaijani began to shout, urging the Prime Minister of Armenia to 'stop the war and return the lands.' He also accused Armenia of 'genocide against the Azerbaijani people.'

As attempts were made to remove him from the church, a commotion ensued. Pashinyan requested that the blogger be allowed to speak freely. The Prime Minister then responded in detail, point by point, to Abdullayev's accusations, after which the latter left the scene.

Subsequent reports circulated claiming that Abdullayev had collaborated with Azerbaijani special services for some time.