Azernews.Az

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), an organization that has helped repatriate prisoners in connection with the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh since 1992, has refuted the Azerbaijani Ombudsperson’s recent statement on its censoring correspondence of Azerbaijani prisoners and pressuring their parents.
According to the ICRC delegation in Azerbaijan, in response to Elmira Suleymanova’s statement, made in a Geneva meeting with Pascale Meige Wagner, the ICRC's head of operations for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the ICRC said "erroneous reporting can have a negative impact both on the detainees and on their families' members".
"The ICRC always prefers to deliver and discuss private information related to detained people only with their family members or relevant authority representatives from both sides and not subject those deprived of freedom to public scrutiny," the statement said.
The ICRC said that since 1992, it has been visiting people who are detained in connection with the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict for strictly humanitarian purposes. The ICRC assesses their detention conditions and treatment until their release. During these visits the ICRC offers detainees the opportunity to write messages, known as "Red Cross Messages" (RCM) to their families.
"Designed exclusively for exchanging personal greetings and family news, these messages provide vital moral support for prisoners and their families as this is often the only means for them to keep in touch. It should be noted that RCMs are subject to censorship and can be returned to a detainee or his/her family, if the content of a RCM goes beyond strictly family news. The ICRC can not force a detained person to write or receive an RCM if it is not so wished."
When the relevant authorities decide to release a detained person, the ICRC, if requested, supports authorities in the arrangements necessary to repatriate such a person. The ICRC is not involved in the process of negotiations on possible transfer or repatriation of persons. However, before agreeing to assist in repatriation or transfer, the ICRC always ensures by means of a private interview with the detained person concerned that he or she wishes to be sent home. The organization will support any similar operation in the future should the need arise, the statement added.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict for two decades. Two Azerbaijani military men are currently held captive in Armenia and one civilian is held hostage.*