No news since ICRC Sept 2 meeting with Armenian captive

 September 18, 2013 - 17:02 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Absence of governmental ties with Azerbaijan is the main hindrance on the way to returning Armenian captive Hakob Injighulyan, with the process mediated by international organizations Defense Minister said.

“We’re taking our best efforts for Injighulyan to return to Armenia,” Seyran Ohanyan said, noting that the solder won’t be legally persecuted. “We can only imagine the pressure he might have been subjected to on Azeri side,” Tert.am quoted Ohanyan as saying.

As the representative of the ICRC in Yerevan Ashot Astambatsyan told PanARMENIAN.Net no fresh reports on the Armenian captive have been provided, with the news to be released as soon as something transpires.

September 2 was the last time when the Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) met with the Armenian captive.

As the head of the ICRC Baku office Denise Duran stated earlier, the Committee continued the captive-related negotiations with Azerbaijani authorities.

On the night of Aug 8, Injighulyan, born in 1991, failed to find his bearings on the ground and crossed into the Azeri-controlled territory.

Azeri media have been spreading information suggesting the captive is unwilling to return to Armenia.

However, Injighulyan never mentioned his unwillingness to return to Armenia in a meeting with ICRC representatives, with Azerbaijani Prisoners of War Commission Secretary noting he sees no problem with the captive's return.

Armenia has repeatedly slammed the “interviews” with Injighulyan as forced by Baku and urged the ICRC to take every effort to help the captive’s return, with no persecution to be initiated against him in the absence of crime in the act.