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The Armenian Police refute the Azerbaijani disinformation suggesting their troops thwarted an alleged sabotage infiltration attempt by the Armenian side at the Gazakh region and held captive an Armenian “spy” identified as Karen Ghazaryan.

Ashot Aharonyanm, the head of the Information and Public Relations Department of the Armenian Police, explained that Ghazaryan (b. 1984) is a resident of bordering Berdavan village of Armenia’s Tavush Province, who has not served in the Armenian army due to health problems and has been registered in a medical facility since 2013.

The police said the circumstances of how the villager ended up in the Azerbaijani territory are under investigation.

Defense Ministry Spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan confirmed in a Facebook post that Karen Ghazaryan is not serving in and has never been drafted to the Armenian army.

Meantime, he added that Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan, who also heads the Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons, has requested the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Armenia to help arrange his return.

“The ICRC Yerevan Office has been notified of Karen Ghazaryan’s health problems,” the spokesman said.