Azerbaijani serviceman, detained in NKR, flees Ganja psychiatric ward - Azerbaijani Defense Ministry

BAKU. Aug 26 (Interfax) - Serviceman Jamil Babayev, detained in the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), has escaped from the psychiatric ward of the Ganja hospital, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said.

"Azerbaijani army serviceman Jamil Babayev has left the psychiatric ward of the Ganja hospital without permission. A criminal case was opened against serviceman Babayev, and an investigation is underway," the ministry told Interfax on Thursday.

The ministry believes that Babayev has crossed into the [Karabakh] territory temporarily controlled by Russian peacekeepers.

The NKR said earlier that Babayev was detained on August 25 in a house on Teryan Street in Martakert, where he was allegedly threatening two teenagers.