Lebanese-Armenian Maral Najarian returns to Beirut from Azerbaijan

PanARMENIAN.Net - A Lebanese-Armenian woman named Maral Najarian, who was kidnapped by the Azerbaijani forces in Nagorno-Karabakh in November 2020, has returned to Beirut, lawmaker Naira Zohrabyan said in a Facebook post.

The European Court of Human Rights had confirmed that Najarian was imprisoned in Baku, Azerbaijan's capital, MP Tatevik Hayrapetyan said back in January.

"Boarding a flight from Istanbul to Beirut, Maral reunited with her sons yesterday," Zohrabyan said on Thursday, March 11, thanking everyone who did their best to help free "the brave woman".

"Thanks are in order for the President of the Federal Council of the Russian Federation, the Government of Lebanon, the Lebanese Red Cross, the Lebanese ARF organization, [Armenian Human Rights Defender] Arman Tatoyan, [lawyer] Siranuysh Sahakyan, my good friend Arayik Baghdasaryan from Russia and a little for myself."

Zohrabyan noted that working in unison will ensure the repatriation of all the Armenian prisoners of war and captured civilians.

Several dozen Armenian POWs have returned from Azerbaijan so far, although Armenian officials say many more people were being held in Baku. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev claims, however, that persons being kept in Baku are not prisoners of war but “terrorists and saboteurs”. Human rights lawyer Siranush Sahakyan has said, meanwhile, that at least 120 Armenian prisoners of war are being held in Azerbaijan. The lawyer said there is enough evidence proving the capture of said persons, which the Armenian side will submit to international agencies and courts.