Israeli soldier detained in Armenia headed back to Israel

Israeli soldier detained in Armenia headed back to Israel –

Arutz Sheva – An IDF soldier who returned to visit his native Armenia is on his way back to Israel, Maariv reported Thursday, after he was detained by authorities there.

Arik Martoyan, who has lived in Israel since he was five-years-old, was detained in Armenia and prevented from leaving the country after arriving there on a family roots trip, when authorities determined he was eligible for the draft there.

 Martoyan is a dual Israeli-Armenian citizen, a status he inherited from his parents. Because he did not seek to revoke his Armenian citizenship, he was told, he was required to serve in the army there, even though he was currently serving in the IDF.

Martoyan was on a six-week tour of Armenia, which he took with army permission, to seek out his family roots. Martoyan had been detained and prevented from leaving Armenia for over a month. On Thursday morning,Maariv said, he was finally given permission to leave.

 The Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued last week that it had been in contact with the IDF and had approached Armenian authorities on the matter.

“It is important to stress the personal responsibility that every citizen has when they are also a citizen of another country to organize his affairs and status with the authorities of the state that he is visiting, “ the Ministry said.