Armenian Ombudsperson demands return of all POWs with no additional conditions

All the prisoners of war (POWs) must be immediately returned to their homeland without any conditions, Arman Tatoyan, the Armenian Ombudsperson, has stated. In his opinion, the words of Azerbaijani President, Ilham Aliev, about the fate of the captured Armenian militaries contradict the essence of the peace treaty.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 5, Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed on the exchange of POWs in the "all for all" format. The total number of POWs returned to Armenia made 57 persons; those returned to Azerbaijan made 14 persons.

The December 31 Ilham Aliev's statement contradicts to the requirement of the November 9 statement dealing with the exchange of POWs or other detainees, Arman Tatoyan, the Ombudsperson of Armenia, wrote on the Facebook.

Earlier, Mr Aliev stated that the Armenian soldiers held captive are not POWs. He noted that they were detained and called them terrorists.

"Such statements are grossly violating the humanitarian process and international requirements in the field of human rights. The Armenian soldiers captured by Azerbaijani militaries ... are POWs in terms of their status," the "News.Am" has quoted Mr Tatoyan as saying.

Azerbaijan is deliberately delaying the process of returning POWs, without presenting the real data on the number of them, the Ombudsperson has emphasized, the "Sputnik Armenia" reports.

According to various sources, hundreds of Armenian citizens are being held captive, Narek Malyan, the head of the "Veto" social-political movement, wrote on the Facebook.

In his turn, Ilham Aliev stated on December 31 that Armenian armed formations are active in the territories that had come under the control of Baku. They "wouldn't obey the leadership of Armenia; many of them have been neutralized, and many have been arrested," the "Sputnik Azerbaijan" has quoted President Aliev as saying.