Red Cross representatives visit Azerbaijani servicemen captured by Armenia

Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) once again visited two Azerbaijani citizens detained in Armenia on June 13.

Head of the public relations department of the ICRC office in Azerbaijan Ilaha Huseynova told Caliber.Az that they had a one-on-one meeting with the detainees and were given the opportunity to contact their families.

"In accordance with its mandate during the visit, the ICRC assesses the treatment and conditions of detainees and creates conditions to restore or continue contact with their families. In accordance with ICRC procedures, observations and recommendations in connection with the visits are transmitted only to the detaining party," Huseynova noted.

On May 8, a court in Armenia passed "a verdict" against Babirov, sentencing him to over 11 years of imprisonment.

The Azerbaijani military servicemen Agshin Babirov (born in 2004) and Huseyn Akhundov (born in 2003) went missing due to limited visibility under adverse weather conditions in the border area of the Shahbuz district of Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic with Armenia on April 10.

Cases of physical abuse and brutal treatment against the abducted Huseyn Akhundov were in the videos circulated on social networks.

Relevant international agencies have been alerted about this case, which is just another incident of Armenian ethnic violence, according to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres had also been informed that Armenia, contrary to international law, is holding captive the soldiers of the Azerbaijani army Agshin Babirov and Huseyin Akhundov.

According to local media, the permanent representative of Azerbaijan at the UN, Yashar Aliyev, in his letter to Guterres, also raised the issue of captive soldiers.

The diplomat noted that the brutal beating of both servicemen in handcuffs was captured on the footage distributed by the Armenian mass media.

"According to the relevant international obligations, Armenia must immediately release our soldiers, properly investigate and punish those who are responsible for the inhumane and degrading treatment of them", the Azerbaijani representative stressed.