ARMENIAN OMBUDSMAN TRYING TO CLEAR THE FATE OF THE ARMENIAN PRISONER

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| 19:19:30 | 08-04-2005 | Politics |

Today RA Ombudsman Larissa Alaverdyan has sent a letter to Elmira
Suleymanova, the Azerbaijani Human rights defender, the Red Cross
International Committee, and the Armenian, Azerbaijani and Stepanakert
delegations of the Committee.

It is particularly mentioned in the letter that according to the
information spread by the International working group about the
issues of war prisoners Zohrab Tamayan who was in military service
in Noyemberyan has been taken captive my the Armenian armed forces.

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense has not confirmed the information,
whereas the Azerbaijani independent experts have, and according to
the Azerbaijani press the soldier has been take captive by the order
of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

The Armenian Ombudsman has expressed his worriedness by the fate of
the soldier especially taking into account the fact that the captive
is representative of a national minority. It is well known that the
Azerbaijanis treat the Kurd captives with special cruelty. ~SWe
have already had terrible experience ~V a Yezidi young men – an
ex-prisoner of war who returned from Azerbaijan, committed suicide~T,
says the latter.

The RA Defender of human rights asked the above mentioned organization
to wake the case into control securing the defense of Tamayan~Rs
rights and the meeting of Geneva convention commitments.

~SI think that cooperation in the settlement of humanitarian problems
will allow us to reduce e tension and will contribute to the peaceful
settlement of the Karabakh conflict for the sake of stability and
regional security~T, mentioned Larissa Alaverdyan.