AHA Ombudsman Has Information on Several Dozens of Prisoners of War and Civilian Captives: Beglaryan

The Ombudsman of Artsakh has identified, through open source analysis, that approximately 30 Armenian prisoners of war are being held in Azerbaijan. The Ombudsman also reported the presence of missing civilians, for whom data is being collected.

According to Armenpress, this was announced by the Ombudsman of Artsakh, Artak Beglaryan, during an online discussion on November 27. Beglaryan stated, "I cannot provide exact numbers. Through open sources and videos and photos disseminated on social media, we have been able to ascertain data about about 30 prisoners of war. Based on the data we presented, it has been possible to save lives through the International Red Cross Committee. In addition, we must not forget that there are missing civilians, for whom we are also gathering information. They were in Artsakh—in their homes and living spaces—which are under Azerbaijani control. Currently, we have about 30 missing civilians. Among them, there are 11 confirmed deaths, of which the bodies of 7 have been returned or found by rescuers after the war. Nearly all the bodies that have been returned have shown signs of mutilation and dismemberment, including beheading, some of which were committed while these individuals were still alive, while others occurred post-mortem," he said.

He reported that all cases are being analyzed and presented to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Russian side. To date, more than 400 bodies have been handed over to the Armenian side. Some of them were found by the Red Cross and rescuers with the support of Russian peacekeepers, while others were exchanged.

"Generally, in areas under Azerbaijani control, there are more Armenian bodies than Azerbaijani ones on our side. The Azerbaijani side is clearly postponing the issue of body exchange. With the support of Russian peacekeepers, the ICRC and rescuers have been in many settlements during the military operations, but have not found any bodies. This leads to the conclusion that the Azerbaijani side has gathered the bodies before only allowing search operations to commence. They have collected our dead and are continuously delaying. Azerbaijan is not fulfilling its obligations. Thus, they aim to further affect the situation within Armenia and exacerbate the psychological suffering of the relatives, which is also evidenced by the dissemination of videos. It should be noted that these actions are directed by Azerbaijani state bodies. The videos and photos being circulated could only have left the Azerbaijani army with the permission and under the control of the authorities. Therefore, the goal of the Azerbaijani side is to psychologically pressure our society. We continue to gather and process all data and analyses for presentation to the Artsakh Defense Army, the ICRC, and the commissions on prisoners and missing persons. In this regard, the international community also has a role to play, and our government must also do everything possible to return the bodies of the fallen and prisoners," stated the Ombudsman of Artsakh.