Azerbaijani authorities deny Tallinn City Council adviser entry at airport
Last Friday, Azerbaijani authorities did not allow Tallinn City Council adviser and Estonian Center Party Youth chairperson Karine Oganesjan to exit Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport upon her arrival in Azerbaijan, ultimately sending her back to Estonia.
Oganesjan flew to Baku last Friday, March 23 to participate in an international pedagogical conference, but she was not allowed beyond the airport's closed zone, Armenian online portal panorama.am reported.
A member of the Estonian delegation to attend the conference, Oganesjan had been granted an electronic entry visa, but upon her arrival at Baku Airport, she was allegedly denied entry to the country by local authorities due to her Armenian surname. 12 hours later, she was put on a plane back to Estonia.
Commenting on the incident, Armenian Ambassador to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania Tigran Mkrtchyan noted that this behavior once again demonstrated the "racist, intolerant nature" of Baku authorities.
Mkrtchyan expressed hope that Estonia would draw its own conclusions and adequately react to this "disgusting story, defending the rights of its citizen."
Editor: Aili Vahtla