NKR State Committee: All bodies of those killed in Azerbaijan's aggression have been transferred to Nagorno Karabakh with signs of torture and mutilation

 State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic has disseminated a statement wherein it says: 

"On April 10, in accordance with the arrangement reached earlier, the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, through the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman in Office, carried out the exchange of bodies of the deceased between the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan near the Bash Karvend settlement. The bodies of 18 servicemen of the NKR Defense Army, fallen as a result of the large scale military aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan in April 2-5, were transferred to the NKR side during the exchange.

At the presence of the representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the NKR State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons registered that all bodies of the deceased transferred by the Azerbaijani side had signs of torture and mutilation.

Those acts, being a flagrant manifestation of inhumanity, run counter to the laws and customs of war and are in grave violation of the international humanitarian law, in particular, the Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field (1949), Geneva Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (1949) and the Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I)." 

The Karabakh side will seek to ensure that such behavior of the Azerbaijani side is condemned in strongest terms by the international community and the specialized agencies, and those responsible are brought into account.

On April 10, the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in accordance with the arrangement reached between the NKR and Azerbaijan through the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, carried out the exchange of bodies of the deceased near Bash-Karvend settlement, according to the NKR Foreign Ministry press-office.
David Babayan, Spokesperson for the NKR President, has confirmed the information saying that 18 bodies of those who were earlier considered as missing were transferred to the Armenian side.  The ICRC press-office has also made a statement on the issue.  According to the NKR Defense Army, the bodies of junior sergeant of the NKR Defense Army Robert A.  Abajyan (born in 1996) and private Andranik A. Zohrabyan (born in 1996) were found and transferred to their families. On April 10, the Azerbaijani side transferred the head of the 20-year Kyaram Sloyan, the soldier of the NKR Defense, who was decapitated by the Azerbaijani forces. 

Earlier on April 7,  Armenian Justice Minister Arpine Hovhannisyan said in Parliament Armenia considers its possible application to international courts over the facts of violation of numerous international conventions in the course of the latest Azerbaijani aggression in the Karabakh conflict zone.