In Yerevan, a Russian was detained, who moved to Armenia a year and a half ago. In Russia he was accused of desertion

In Yerevan, a Russian citizen Nikolai Zonov was detained, who left the Russian Federation in 2023. The wife of the Russian, Arevik Zonova, told Novaya Gazeta Europe that in Russia, her husband was charged with an article on unauthorized abandonment of part (part 5 of Article 337 of the Criminal Code) and put on the wanted list. Information about the detention of Zonov was also published on his Instagram .

Zonova was detained on March 12 during the submission of documents for citizenship of Armenia. Then he found out that in Russia a criminal case was brought against him. Now the Russian is in the isolator. In the coming days, a court will be held in which they will make a decision on his expulsion to Russia.

Zonov-chef from the Kirov region. According to his wife, in the fall of 2023, the Russian moved to Armenia and did not come to Russia anymore. A year after the move, he received an invitation to submit documents for Armenia citizenship on the basis of marriage with a citizen of the country and residence in Armenia during the year.

“He did not know at all that some business was opened on him, did not hide from the investigation. Now he is afraid of reprisals and criminal prosecutions in Russia. He does not want to return, because he cannot fight against hostilities, because he believes that Ukraine and Russia are one people, ”said the Arevik Zonova.

With reference to lawyers, she also said that her husband can both let go and send to Russia. Zonova suggests that her husband can request political asylum in Armenia.

Editing. We removed the news of the agenda from the text and the headline, since information about this was deleted from the article of Novaya Gazeta Europe. The Mediazona to the Mediazona, the Arevik Zonova said that her husband served in the army, but did not receive a summons. “The prosecution says that he“ escaped from Russia, hiding ”, and we just moved here to [Armenia],” she said.

• According to lawyers who specialize in the help of political activists abroad, among the countries accessible to Russians in domestic passport, Armenia is the safest, since the risks of issuing in the Russian Federation are low. However, there is a risk that Russian security forces who escaped from the war can be detained. So, in December 2023, Gyumri detained the mobilized Dmitry Setrakov. At first he was kept on the territory of the military base, and then sent to Russia. The Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan called the actions of the Russian security forces in the country illegal.