Allahshukur Pashazade to send letter to Armenian Catholicos Karekin II

Baku. Mubariz Aslanov – APA. The details of the meeting between Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Office Sheik-ul-Islam Haji Allahshukur Pashazade and Armenian serviceman Akop Injugulyan captured on the contact line in August this year have been revealed.

CMO spokesperson Rahima Dadashova told APA that during the meeting Sheik-ul-Islam said Armenian Catholicos Karekin II asked to return Injugulyan to his country.

Sheik said that he is ready to comply with the request and offered the captive to return to his country. However, Injugulyan refused to return to Armenia. He said he underwent torture in the Armenian army, faced intolerable situation and generally didn’t want to fight in Karabakh. The captive underlined good care and conditions created for him in Azerbaijan.

Expressing his gratitude for the meeting, the captive asked Sheik-ul-Islam and other religious leaders – Archbishop of Baku and Azerbaijan Eparchy Alexander Ischein, Chairman of the religious community of the Mountain Jews of Baku Milikh Yevdayev and Head of the Baku Catholic Church Vladimir Fekete to assist him to go to a third country.

Dadashova said that Sheik-ul-Islam would send a letter of response to Karekin II about the meeting.

Under the declaration signed by religious leaders in 2010, religious leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan undertook obligations to provide mutual assistance in the problems of military prisoners.  Journalists were not allowed to attend the meeting, as it was held without the consent of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

On the night of August 7-8, serviceman of Armenian armed units Akop Injugulyan passed the part of the contact line controlled by the Azerbaijani Army in the direction of Aghdam frontline.

Secretary of the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons Shahin Sayilov told APA a while ago that Akop Injugulyan appealed to the Azerbaijani government for sending him to a third country. 

Source: