Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan today received French Member of the European Parliament Francois-Xavier Bellamy, as reported the Office of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia.

During the meeting, Tatoyan raised the issue of the immediate release and return of the captives of the Armenian side (servicemen and civilians) being kept illegally in Azerbaijan, stating that the Azerbaijani authorities are artificially delaying and politicizing the process with the aim of causing mental suffering to the captives’ families.

The ombudsman thoroughly presented the serious human rights issues that have emerged due to the process linked to borders unfolding at an inadmissible speed under Azerbaijan’s overt threats of war targeted at the populations of Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

During the meeting, Tatoyan highly appreciated the effective cooperation established with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Armenia Jonathan Lacôte and the French Embassy, and the parties agreed to deepen the cooperation in the sector of human rights protection.