ArmInfo. Representatives of the Baku office of the International Committee of the Red Cross today visited the Armenian prisoner of war Araik Ghazaryan, who, on August 12, under unclear circumstances, appeared in Azerbaijan.
Thus, in an interview with ArmInfo correspondent, the head of communication programs of the ICRC delegation in Armenia Zara Amatuni informed that representatives of the organization, as part of their international humanitarian mandate, visited Armenian citizen Araik Ghazaryan, who is in Azerbaijan. According to her, the purpose of the visit is to monitor the conditions of Kazaryan's detention, and help in maintaining communication with relatives.
It should be noted that the press service of the Artsakh Defense Army distributed a message according to which on August 12, at about 12:00, soldier Araik Aikovich Ghazaryan born in 2000 left the defensive site of one of the military units of the Defense Army, deployed in the southeast direction. Later, the Azerbaijani media reported with reference to the military department of Azerbaijan that the soldier is on their territory. Armenian Minister of Defense David Tonoyan expressed confidence that the serviceman appeared on the Azerbaijani side, as he got lost on the ground.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan disseminated information that allegedly Armenian soldier left his post due to hazing. Light scratches and ordinary scars on Ghazaryan's body are presented as evidence of violence against him. However, the NKR Ministry of Defense denied this information, urging the public not to believe the false accusations of the Azerbaijani side aimed at humiliating the image of the Armenian soldier, and to wait for the end of the ongoing investigation, the results of which will be published. The Armenian Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan also addressed the incident, saying that he had talked with the head of the Armenian mission of the International Committee of the Red Cross, where he was informed that they had not seen the Armenian soldier in Azerbaijan yet, but steps were being taken in this direction. In turn, the Artsakh Foreign Ministry reported that the mission of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office was informed about the fact that a soldier of the Artsakh Republic Defense Army Araik Ghazaryan was captured by the Azerbaijani side. According to the Foreign Ministry, Artsakh authorities are making efforts to repatriate prisoner of war Araik Ghazaryan.