The Ombudsperson, Ms. Sabina Aliyeva received the newly appointed Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Delegation in Azerbaijan, Ms. Ariane Bauer and the former Head, Ms. Elena Ajmone Sessera.

During the meeting, the Ombudsperson has touched upon the situation of the citizens of Azerbaijan and their families, including women and children, who joined the various armed groups in Syria and are being held as hostages and captives in various refugee tent camps there at present. She asked the ICRC, within its mandate, to assist in ensuring of their rights, obtaining and verifying the information about those persons, preventing torture and inhumane treatment towards them and returning them to Azerbaijan.

Ms. Aliyeva also stressed her deep concern about the violation of the rights of Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilgam Askerov who were taken hostages by the armed forces of Armenia in 2014 while visiting the graves of their parents in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. These persons are still held as hostages by Armenia and have undergone severe torture and degrading treatment.

During the meeting, the parties have also discussed the issues related to the situation in the borderline between Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as the future perspectives of the mutual cooperation.