Karabakh Ombudsman: Four Armenian woman being held in Azerbaijan

PanARMENIAN.Net - At least four Armenian women are being held captive in Azerbaijan, Human Rights Defender of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Artak Beglaryan said Sunday, December 6, adding that their fact-finding mission is investigating the matter.

"Before exchanging the prisoners of war and captives, it is necessary to make sure that all of them have been found. There is no doubt that there are more captives in Azerbaijan than the figures provided by Baku," Beglaryan said, according to the Armenian Service of RFE/RL.

"Before the "all for all" principle is carried out, it is important for the international community to confirm and guarantee that Azerbaijan is not hiding any Armenian prisoners of war or civilians."

Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan said earlier that Armenia supports the principle of "all in exchange for all" when it comes to the swap of POWs between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh. Avinyan also called for creating a mechanism for the immediate repatriation of captives without preconditions, if such cases happen in the future.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev on November 9 signed a statement to end the war in Karabakh after almost 45 days. Under the deal, the Armenian side is returning all the seven regions surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, having lost a part of Karabakh itself in hostilities.