Fifteen prisoners are returning to Armenia from Baku in exchange for Armenian maps of the minefields of the Varanda (Fizuli) and Kovsakan (Zangelan) regions in Artsakh.

The news was reported by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. The captives will be accompanied to Armenia by the commander of the Russian peacekeeping mission, General Rustam Muradov.

"On July 3, 2021, on the initiative of the Russian Federation, Armenia handed over to Azerbaijan 92,000 maps of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, which were placed in the Zangelan region of Fizuli…Azerbaijan has handed over to Armenia fifteen Armenians that were freed by a court decision and whose terms of the sentence had expired," the statement reads.

Here, we should note that on the evening of July 2, the Baku Serious Crimes Court published its verdict on the fabricated case of fourteen prisoners from Shirak. According to the verdict, two of the prisoners were sentenced to four and the other 12 to six months in prison.

Lawyer Ara Ghazaryan told Hetq by telephone that the sentences of the twelve   had expired because, according to Azerbaijani law, it was calculated from the moment of detention. The captives from Shirak were taken prisoner on December 13, 2020.

The names of at least twelve of the returning prisoners are: Volodya Hakobyan, Gevorg Asatryan, Gevorg Gasparyan, Sisak Yengoyan, Yuri Karapetyan, Edgar   Mahtesyan, Aram Minasyan, Mkrtich Minasyan, Albert Petrosyan, Armen Poghosyan, Romik Sedrakyan and Kamo Sefilyan.

According to circulating information, the other three returnees are Yeghishe Aslanyan, Robert Gevorgyan and Andranik Manukyan.

The names of the returned captives have not been officially confirmed by Armenian official sources.

Archive photo by RFE/ RL