Armenian-captured soldier refuses to return to home country

"I was told by  International Committee of the Red Cross that the representatives of the committee in Armenia met with Samir on April 27 and Samir said so. But we do not believe it. Samir can not do it. Armenians lie. It is a pity that representatives of ICRC in Armenia work under Armenian pressure," the soldier's uncle Vidadi Mammadov told the APA.

Gulnaz Guliyeva, officer of ICRC office in Baku told the APA that representatives of ICRC in Armenia met with Samir Mammadov on April 27 for the 16th time and monitored his detention conditions and his physiological state. Guliyeva said it is impossible to publicize the meeting taking into account confidentiality.

"International Committee of the Red Cross operates in many countries without being under any pressure. We deliver all letters to addressees. A captured soldier has the right to write and refuse writing. We can not interfere with this right," she said.

Commenting on the soldier's hand over to a third country, Guliyeva said that this issue is not under ICRC's mandate and it can not do that.

The State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons told the APA that they received an official letter from the ICRC on April 28 which writes that Samir Mammadov refuses returning to Azerbaijan, writing to his parents and wants to be handed over to a third country.