ICRC Addresses the Abduction of Vagif Khachatryan

One person has been arrested during the humanitarian transfer of 15 patients to Armenia, reports the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Previously, it was reported that on July 29, Vagif Khachatryan, one of the patients being transferred from Artsakh to Armenia under the escort of ICRC staff, was abducted by representatives of the Azerbaijani border service. The Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office has announced that he has been arrested. Vagif Khachatryan is accused of allegedly creating a criminal group that participated in crimes against the residents of the village of Meshali in the Khojalu region on December 21, 1991.

The ICRC stated, “Since December 2022, 680 patients have been transferred through the Lachin corridor under an internationally recognized humanitarian mandate. We operate transparently, collaborating with both parties and coordinating with them. This was also the case today. We will visit the detained patient as soon as possible and are in contact with his family. We urge all decision-makers to respect this exclusively humanitarian mission.”

Additionally, on the evening of July 29, a group of Artsakh residents began an indefinite sit-in outside the ICRC office in Armenia. They demand that the international organization use all efforts to immediately return Vagif Khachatryan, who was abducted from the illegal Azerbaijani checkpoint located in the Berdzor corridor.