On September 11, the Karabakh commission dealing with prisoners of war and civilian captives, returned 15-year-old Javid Mammadov to Azerbaijan through the Line of Contact. The Azerbaijani teenager had crossed the border on September 5 for reasons that are yet unknown and was held in custody for one week before being sent back.
Field representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) aided in the repatriation and described it as a gesture of goodwill on Armenia’s part. ICRC in Baku confirmed this information.
Last month, a 33-year-old from the border village of Chinari, Karen Petrosyan had accidentally crossed the Armenia-Azerbaijan state border and was captured by Azerbaijani forces on August 8. The following day, Petrosyan was pronounced dead by Azerbaijani media, allegedly from “acute heart failure;” he had no previous heart conditions. The Armenian government believes he was murdered or beaten to death.
Another villager, 77-year-old, Mamikon Khojoyan of Verin Karmiragbyur of the Tavush Marz died on May 20 after being detained for one month in Azerbaijan and suffering serious injuries during his captivity.
As 15-year-old Mammadov returns home, another civilian Armenian captive, 53 year old Sarkis Ananyan is still being held by Azerbaijani forces. Trend.az reports that, Ananyan, who crossed the border on August 26, came to Azerbaijan because he is unhappy with the social conditions and is seeking asylum. He is currently under medical supervision. On September 8, ICRC met with Ananyan and informed the Armenian government and his family about the meeting. No negotiations have been made yet regarding his return.
