Azerbaijan denies entry to 8-year-old boy with Armenian surname

PanARMENIAN.Net - An 8-year-old child with an Armenian surname was denied entry to Azerbaijan at Baku’s Heydar Aliyev international airport, an Instagram post by a Russia-based family said.

The boy’s name is Luka Vardanyan.

“Both parents are Russians, and they have all the documents testifying they are Russian citizens. But all the Armenians are viewed as enemies in Azerbaijan, as is an 8-year-old boy,” the child’s mother wrote.

This isn’t the first case when Azerbaijan denies entry to people with Armenian surnames irrespective of their citizenship, even deporting them in some cases. In 2013, a Russian journalist, Anna Sahakyan was not allowed to enter Azerbaijan, later being even declared a persona non grata for her Armenian family name.

At various points, Azerbaijan Airlines refused to transport people with Armenian surnames, citing an order from Baku as a reason behind such a decision.