Five Armenian prisoners of war returned from Azerbaijan on Tuesday, October 19 evening. According to a statement from the Russian Embassy in Yerevan, ambassador Sergei Kopyrkin watched the Russian military aircraft land at the Erebuni airfield.

The five Armenian citizens returned from Baku through the mediation of the Russian side.

Lawmaker Narek Ghahramanyan from the ruling Civil Contract party later revealed the names of the five former PoWs: Mels Ambardanyan, Rafik Karapetyan, Zhora Manukyan, Sedrak Soghomonyan and Hovsep Manukyan.

The Azerbaijani authorities continue to mistreat Armenian prisoners of war, in defiance of international obligations. According to the European Parliament, a total of 56 prisoners of war are currently facing criminal prosecution in Azerbaijan, in direct contravention of Article 4 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War.