YEREVAN. – The Armenian Justice Minister Artak Zeynalyan received the acting head of International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Yerevan, Justice Ministry’s press service reported.

During the meeting the minister touched upon the issue of the captive Karen Ghazaryan and asked ICRC representatives to visit him more often, given his state of health and the fact that the Azerbaijani authorities are trying to present a civilian as a serviceman.

Karen Ghazaryan (born in 1984), a resident of Berdavan border village of Armenia’s Tavush Province, had ended up in Azerbaijan for unknown reasons, and was captured.

Azerbaijan, however, had attempted to present this as “the prevention of a reconnaissance group of the Armenian Armed Forces on the border.” The incident allegedly had occurred in the direction of Azerbaijan’s Gazakh region. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry had said an Armenian serviceman was taken captive.

But the Armenian Defense Ministry formally declared that Ghazaryan was not serving and had never served in the Armed Forces of Armenia.