Georgia arrests Armenian citizen in connection with Igla smuggling case

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Georgian interior ministry said its central criminal police department has detained a 40-year-old Armenian citizen in connection with the case of smuggling Igla missile parts to Armenia.

The Armenian national security service said days earlier that it has arrested three people, including Samvel Babayan who served as former minister of defence of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) and a Liberation Army commander, for smuggling Igla anti-aircraft missile system parts from Georgia.

According to a statement from the interior ministry, Robert A. (b. 1977) was arrested in Tbilisi on Monday, March 27.

Babayan is an active supporter, but not a member of Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanian bloc, which is led by former Armenian defense minister Seyran Ohanyan and two former foreign ministers - Raffi Hovannisian and Vartan Oskanian.

In a statement of its own, ORO has slammed the former commander’s arrest as political persecution, while Babayan’s lawyer has denied the detention is politically motivated.