NK promises to return PoWs, Baku denies their existence

De-facto president of Nagorno-Karabakh Arayik Harutyunyan promised that all servicemen and citizens in captivity in Azerbaijan would be returned home while meeting with relatives of missing soldiers.

So far, only 53 prisoners have returned from Azerbaijan. The last exchange of prisoners took place in mid-December. At that time, 45 captive Armenians and 14 Azerbaijanis returned home.

The exchange process was mediated by the International Committee of the Red Cross and Russian peacekeepers. The exchange was carried out on the principle of “all for all”, but the office of the ombudsman of Nagorno-Karabakh claims that it has proven facts that dozens of Armenian prisoners remain in captivity, which Azerbaijan has not confirmed.

The Ombudsman of Armenia Arman Tatoyan is now in Moscow. The purpose of the visit is to facilitate the return of the Armenian prisoners who are now in Azerbaijan. At the same time, the Ombudsman’s Facebook page says that the details of his meetings will not be disclosed, “given the specifics of the topic.”

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“Azerbaijan is hiding the real number of prisoners”

Former NK Ombudsman Artak Beglaryan accused Azerbaijan of hiding the real number of prisoners of war and held civilians.

“I don’t want to name specific numbers, but there is video evidence,” Artak Beglaryan said.

He also said that those who returned from captivity, including women, were subjected to inhumane treatment and torture in Azerbaijani prisons:

“Some of the prisoners who have returned to their homeland are now being treated in hospitals. Two civilians were killed in Azerbaijan, the body of one was handed over to us, the other has not yet been. In both cases, there is ample evidence that they were killed in prison”.

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