07:58, 7 February 2016

Stepanakert NGO has no claims to custody conditions of Guliev and Askerov

Dilkham Askerov (to the left) with his advocate Erik Beglaryan. Photo by Alvard Grigoryan for the "Caucasian Knot"

The mission of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has visited at the penitentiary institution located in the city of Shushi Shakhbaz Guliev and Dilkham Askerov, convicted for murder, theft, illegal border crossing, possession of weapons and espionage. The convicts' custody conditions are in line with international standards, said Karen Oganjanyan, the head of the committee "Helsinki Initiative-92".

In 2014, citizens of Azerbaijan Shakhbaz Guliev and Dilkham Askerov were sentenced by the court of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) to 22 years and life imprisonment, respectively, for killing a teenager, theft, illegal crossing of the NKR's border, possession of weapons, espionage, and a murder of an officer of the Armenian Army.

Eteri Musaelyan, the head of the press service of the ICRC mission in the NKR, has added that "the ICRC will regularly visit these prisoners to monitor their custody conditions and ensure that they have the opportunity to keep in touch with their relatives."

Karen Oganjanyan has also noted that Askerov's and Guliev's relatives had not approached her organization with whatever requests.

"We had individual conversations with each of the convicts. They expressed their sincere satisfaction with the custody conditions and their health," says the statement.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.

Author: Alvard Grigoryan

Source: CK correspondent