BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 27. Vera Varasakovna Aghasyan, a 70-year-old ethnic Armenian woman living in the Khankendi city of the Republic of Azerbaijan, died on October 20, 2024, at around 9-10 a.m. in her home, Trend reports via the State Commission for Prisoners of War and Hostage Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
It was noted that on October 23, 2024, the Media and Communication Department of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Azerbaijan issued a press release informing that a forensic medical examination was appointed based on the fact of death. According to the results of the forensic medical examination, the immediate cause of death of the 70-year-old woman was acute cardiopulmonary insufficiency developed against the background of pulmonary artery thrombosis. The Ministry of Health specialists checked Aghasyan and provided her with the necessary social assistance.
On the same day, the State Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan for Prisoners of War, Hostages, and Missing Citizens informed the Azerbaijani delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) about the death of Aghasyan. The State Commission also requested that the relevant state bodies in Armenia and Aghasyan's family members be informed about this case.
The State Commission sent an official request to the ICRC to transfer the body of the deceased to the opposite party, taking into account the wish of the deceased's children to be buried in Armenia. Azerbaijan made the necessary preparations to facilitate this humanitarian process, including obtaining a medical certificate of death; all documents were notarized, translated into English, and apostilled. It was planned to hand over Aghasyan's body through ICRC mediation at the Lachin border crossing point to the relevant Armenian state authorities on October 29 or 30.
The ICRC informed the opposite side of the measures taken. However, almost two months have passed since the appeal, and the opposite party has yet to respond. Despite the fact that the issue had been discussed with the ICRC Azerbaijani representation on several occasions during the last period, the organization reported that the Armenian side had not responded to them on the case.
The investigation shows that Aghasyan's children, who had never met or been interested in her, asked the ICRC to bring her body back to Armenia to be buried. They then didn't care about the process, which was part of a deliberate effort to spread false information. The Armenian side assumed that Azerbaijan would refuse the children's request to hand over the body, and this fact could have been used for political purposes against Azerbaijan in the run-up to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29). However, seeing that Azerbaijan was ready to implement the humanitarian process, the Armenians lost interest in the process as they were unable to achieve the desired result.
It is against international humanitarian law and human values to politicize a death matter, no matter what religion or nationality the person was, or to try to use this event to spread false information about Azerbaijan. Emphasizing the consistent observance by the Republic of Azerbaijan of international humanitarian law and the fulfillment of the obligations assumed under international treaties, the State Commission reiterates its readiness to hand over the remains of Aghasyan to the opposite party.
In connection with the impossibility of long-term storage of human remains, according to religious customs and scientific consensus, and in case Armenia refuses (fails to act) to accept Aghasyan's body until the end of January 2025, it will be buried in Azerbaijan. The grave will be properly maintained.
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