Repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians is on agenda  of international humanitarian organization and Armenian authorities

ArmInfo.The issue of repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians continues to be on the agenda of the international humanitarian organization and  the Armenian authorities.  Thus, Head of Communication Programs of the International Committee  of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Armenia Zara Amatuni said that the ICRC  representatives periodically visit the Armenian captives and hostages  in Azerbaijan, study the conditions of their detention, establish  contact with their family members.

"The opportunity is provided for the exchange of family information,  news, as well as Red Cross messages, video messages and phone calls  are used. We cannot make public the number of people we visit, but I  can confirm that throughout the entire period of captivity we are in  touch with every family,"  said Amatuni, "Lurer" reports.

Meanwhile, yesterday, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in an  interview with Nouvelles d'Armenie once again stressed that the first  priority for the Armenian side is the early return of Armenian  prisoners of war and civilian hostages. The Minister stated that  after the ceasefire, more than 100 prisoners had returned to Armenia.  "Nevertheless, in gross violation of the requirements of  international humanitarian law, the Geneva Conventions and the 8th  paragraph of the tripartite statement of November 9, 2020, Azerbaijan  has not yet returned all prisoners of war. Armenia is consistently  working for the speedy repatriation of our compatriots, and also uses  all formats and opportunities for voicing and promoting the issue at  the international tribunes, "he noted, adding that the Armenian side  raised the problem of prisoners of war and other civilians in the  framework of the case against Azerbaijan as well, considered in the  International Court of Justice.

He also recalled that the European Parliament, as well as the  parliaments of several countries adopted resolutions calling for the  return of all Armenian prisoners of war, and the heads of many  states, high- ranking clergy, representatives of culture and art,  parliamentarians, dozens of human rights defenders and human rights  organizations (Human Rights Watch, Freedom House) voiced problem.

To note, there is still no clear data on the number of prisoners of  war and civilians held by Azerbaijan.  Azerbaijan confirms the  presence of about four dozen Armenian soldiers. Meanwhile, according  to the data of the Armenian side, there are more than one hundred of  them. Human rights organizations are convinced that their number may  be as high as four hundred.

It is noteworthy that the Azerbaijani authorities, not only in  violation of all agreements, have been holding Armenian prisoners of  war and civilians captured during the last 44-day war for almost a  year now, but also perpetrated illegal trials over them. It is worth  noting that these actions run counter to the obligations undertaken  by Azerbaijan within the framework of the trilateral statement of  November 9, 2020. According to paragraph 8 of this document, the  exchange of prisoners of war was to be carried out on the principle  of "all for all," however, Azerbaijan speculates on this issue in  every possible way and is trying to get political dividends.