Armenia takes Azerbaijani athletes hostage
Plane left for Türkiye without them

POLITICS  15 April 2023 - 10:52

After the flag-burning incident in Armenia’s capital Yerevan on April 14, the Azerbaijani weightlifting team decided not to take part in the 2023 European Weightlifting Championship, which is being held these days.

Tickets for the Yerevan-Antalya flight were booked for the Azerbaijani team, according to Caliber.Az.

The members of our team were to fly to Antalya and then to Baku at 02.55 (GMT+4).

What happened then?

The Armenians, under the pretext of "security", did not let our team out of the hotel. In fact, they are holding our team hostage after refusing to participate in competitions.

All this happens after the burning of the Azerbaijani flag at the event, which Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan personally opened, and which was attended by President of the World Weightlifting Federation Mohammed Hasan Jalood and President of the European Weightlifting Federation Antonio Conflitti.

What's next, a repeat of Munich 1972 in Yerevan? There was a terrorist attack at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, committed by members of the Black September terrorist Palestinian organisation, 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team (four coaches, five athletes, and two referees) and one West German policeman died.

Taking into account the traditions of Armenian terrorism and the recent video footage showing an Azerbaijani prisoner of war, who was severely beaten in Armenia, urgent measures must be taken to release the Azerbaijani delegation.

Caliber.Az