zerbaijan politicizes the issue of captives and missing persons. Moreover, it hinders the efforts being exerted to find them, Larisa Alaverdyan, the first Ombudsperson of Armenia, CEO of "Against Legal Arbitrariness" NGO, said at a press conference in Yerevan on Friday.
She pointed out that Azerbaijan hinders the efforts of not only Armenia but also the ICRC.
She added that there are 955 missing persons from Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh on the lists of her organization. 547 of them are peaceful citizens. Allaverdyan pointed out that in 1992-1995 over 2000 people returned to the Motherland from the Azerbaijani captivity, and over 6000 people were transferred to Azerbaijan, but since 1995 this process has been slowing down.
As regards the incident with 77-year-old Armenian shepherd Mamikon Khojoyan, who was in Azeri captivity and died as soon as he returned to the Motherland, Alaverdyan said that "Against Legal Arbitrariness" NGO was waiting for the results of the forensic medical examination in order to apply to the European Court of Human Rights.
To note, traces of oil derivatives and psychotropic drugs were found in the blood and urine of Mamikon Khojoyan, 77- year-old man from Armenia's Tavush region who died shortly after his return from Azeri captivity, says the press service of the Armenian Police, referring to the results of a forensic examination.
Khojoyan was captured by Azeris on Jan 28 and returned on Mar 4 due to the ICRC's efforts. After the return the man's health began quickly deteriorating, his legs and arms were swelling. Khojoyan died on May 21.