AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
April 1 2010

ICRC refutes Azeri ombudsperson’s statement

01-04-2010 06:45:45

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.*

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress