YEREVAN, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Baku office have visited Armenian captives held in Azerbaijan, including Karen Ghazaryan and Arayik Ghazaryan, ICRC Armenia representative Zara Amatuni told ARMENPRESS.

“In December representatives of our organization have again visited all persons who have been arrested both in Nagorno Karabakh and in Azerbaijan. During the visit our representatives have inspected the treatment of the persons, the conditions of incarceration and assisted in maintaining communication with family members,” Amatuni said.

Karen Ghazaryan is a mentally ill Armenian civilian from the village of Berdavan who accidentally crossed into Azerbaijani territory and was captured on July 15, 2018. He was tried and convicted by a kangaroo court on fabricated charges.

The other man, Arayik Ghazaryan [no relation], is a serviceman of the Artsakh military who crossed into Azerbaijan August 12, 2019 in circumstances yet to be determined. At one point authorities believed the soldier got lost while AWOL.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan