Prisoners Held in Azerbaijan Granted Opportunity to Connect with Relatives

Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have met with Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan. Zara Amatuni, the head of ICRC's communication programs delegation, informed Sputnik Armenia about this.

According to her, the Azerbaijani authorities have allowed meetings with all individuals whose captivity has been officially acknowledged by the country's government. This includes those captured during the 2020 war, as well as those taken prisoner during the November 2021 attacks.

“Within the framework of the visits, the opportunity has also been provided to establish contact with relatives through various means,” Amatuni stated, clarifying that this includes both the exchange of letters and recorded messages, as well as phone calls.

Relatives of the prisoners have previously sent letters and video messages to the prisoners via the ICRC from Armenia, and in return, the prisoners have brought back response letters and video messages from Azerbaijan.

When asked about the date of the meetings, the ICRC representative did not specify. “Since these are private conversations, it is clear that it doesn't just concern one day's work; it has taken place over several days. And since the frequency of such meetings is monthly, we simply note January without specifying the date. We mention January as another month when we were granted the opportunity for another meeting,” Amatuni said.

The next meeting, according to the established frequency, will take place in February.

As to the psychological and physical condition of the prisoners being held in Azerbaijan, the ICRC does not disclose information. According to Zara Amatuni, this is confidential information discussed between the authorities of the two countries.

It is worth noting that as of December 2021, Azerbaijan has confirmed information about around 50 Armenian prisoners. There are unofficial reports about an additional 80 individuals. Such statements were made by human rights defender and Armenia’s representative on prisoners' matters at the ECHR, Siranush Sahakyan, during a conversation with journalists.