RA Defense Ministry: Baku transferred 6 Armenian hostages to 3rd country

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia returned Azerbaijani citizen Telman Javashiroglu Aliyev, born in 1971, to Baku on November 30.

“Azerbaijani side seemed to extend quite normal welcome to Aliyev, asking as to the way he was treated in Armenia and how he crossed the border,” Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan said after the transfer of Aliyev, adding that Azerbaijani media as a rule immediately start sympathizing with Azeri hostages.

“The fate of Azerbaijani hostages in motherland is already determined, they will be sentenced to at least several years in jail,” Mr. Hovhannisyan said, adding that the issue of Armenian hostages in Azerbaijan was also raised during the transfer.

“Baku currently claims there are no Armenian hostages in Azerbaijan. We presented a list of 90 names to International Committee of the Red Cross, who are alive or held hostage, as we know. However, we were given no proper answer. According to the latest data, 6 Armenian citizens were transferred to a third country, with the ICRC confirming the fact,” he said.

“An Azerbaijani citizen who voluntarily surrendered to Armenia after serving only 4 months in the army is currently held hostage in the country. He requested to be transferred to a third country, rather than Azerbaijan,” Mr. Hovhannisyan further said, adding that the issue is being discussed with ICRC officials.