Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Dec 2 2004

783 Azerbaijanis in Armenian captivity

Minister for National Security Eldar Mahmudov, also chairman of the
State Commission on Prisoners, Hostages and Missing Persons, met with
Mary Vernz, head of the Baku office of the International Committee of
the Red Cross, and Jean Pour Carbon, the office’s coordinator on
defense affairs, on Wednesday.
Mahmudov said that 1,357 Azerbaijani nationals were released from
Armenian captivity from 1998 till 2004. However, according to some
documents and witness testimonies, Armenia still holds 783
Azerbaijanis in captivity.
Mahmudov emphasized that 4,852 people have become missing as a result
of Armenia’s aggression against Azerbaijan and stressed that the
Azerbaijani President keeps in focus the future of the Azerbaijani
citizens held in the Armenian captivity.*