We Returned Them to Armenia, Where They Were Arrested: Aliyev on Armenian POWs

Azerbaijan has so far returned more than 100 soldiers to Armenia who have not committed crimes against Azerbaijanis, stated Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

“For instance, in mid-November, during a military provocation at the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia, more than 30 Armenian servicemen were arrested. One of them was injured, and our doctors operated on him; as soon as he recovered, we returned him. This is true, and it has been verified. Another 10 members of this group were returned to Yerevan, and many of them have been imprisoned in Armenia,” Aliyev said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Pais.

Aliyev noted that those Armenian soldiers who, in his words, committed “crimes” against Azerbaijanis are standing before the court and have been convicted. “Thus, according to no international convention can these individuals be considered prisoners of war. However, the matter is that some of the detained individuals were arrested in Armenia after we returned them. This is a very serious signal for us, for the returnees and their relatives. We returned them to Armenia, and there they were arrested. It is possible that these individuals will be tortured. Testimonies from our former prisoners indicate that these individuals will be subjected to cruel tortures. Therefore, if we return more people, they will be arrested. This is a real fact, and it can be confirmed,” Aliyev stated.