Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend corr. K.Zarbaliyeva / Azerbaijani Public Association for Support to Prisoners of War (POWs) and Captives 'Hasrat Yolu' has accused the Yerevan officials of representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross in cooperation with Armenians, Esmira Orujova, the chairman of the Association, said. She was commenting the Armenian media reports on Azerbaijani captive Samir Mammadov.
The Armenian sources have reported that Mammadov gave an interview to the official of Yerevan representative of the Institution for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR). In this interview published in AZG Mammadov stated his refusal to return to Azerbaijan and wish to live in Armenia. Mammadov appealed to the President of Armenia and explained that expatriation to Azerbaijan he will be charged of parricide and arrested for 15 or 20 years. Mammadov said that he was orphan and refused to receive letters sent by his parents contending that he was brought up in children's home.
Orujova blamed the employees of the Yerevan office of ICRC in cooperation with Armenians. "Azerbaijanis, who returned from Armenian captive, say that ICRC employees propose them to live in Armenia or to go to the third country at the first meeting. Then the captives were informed that once they return to their motherland they will be arrested," Orujova said.
Some 1,391 Azerbaijani citizens have been released from captivity so far. Criminal proceedings have been instituted against 26 of them.
Touching upon orphanage of Mammadov, Orujova said that letters written by prisoner, as well as letters sent to him by relatives were written in special lists of ICRC. "The Committee is well-informed about Samir's family as the Yerevan representation of ICRC gives letters to Samir," Orujova said.
Samir's parents deny the interview given by Samir Mammadov, who was taken prisoner by the Armenian Military Forces in December 2006. Samir's uncle, Vidadi Mammadov, regarded it as the next provocation by Armenia.
Armenia was keen on preventing Mammadov's returning back to Azerbaijan, Mamadov said. "The documents collected at the school and place of residence of Samir have been submitted to the Central office of ICRC based in Geneva," V.Mammadov added.
Recently, Elmira Suleymanova, the Azerbaijani ombudswoman, had appealed to the President of ICRC, Jacob Kellenberg, and submitted the documents which deny the rumors concerning Mammadov's being orphan.
Gulnaz Mammadova, the spokesman for the Azerbaijani representation of ICRC, noted that the organization cannot comment on the existing situation. "ICRC holds monitoring regarding condition in prisons, psychological state of prisoners, as well as renders assistance the prisoners in holding correspondence with their relatives. ICRC is not dealing with returning prisoners to their motherland or to the third country," Mammadova said.
Samir Mammadov is a soldier of Military Unit N in Gazakh region of Azerbaijan. Mammadov was called on military service by the Military Commissariat of Barda region in 24 December 2006. Mammadov was taken prison by the Armenian Military Forces in 15km of the military unit, in Kazakh-Ijevan frontier line.