Armenia refuses to accept the body of an elderly Armenian woman who died in Karabakh – State Commission

Armenia refuses to accept the body of an elderly Armenian woman who passed away in October in Khankendi. If the Armenian side does not accept the woman's body by the end of January, she will be buried in Azerbaijan. This was stated in a message from the State Commission of Azerbaijan on Prisoners of War, Hostages, and Missing Persons.

On October 20, 2024, in the morning, 70-year-old ethnic Armenian Vera Varasakovna Agasyan passed away in her home in Khankendi. According to the results of the forensic examination, the cause of death was acute heart and lung failure, which developed against the background of pulmonary artery thrombosis.

The State Commission informed the Azerbaijani delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) about Agasyan's death and asked them to notify the Armenian authorities and Agasyan's family members.

An official request was sent to the ICRC for the transfer of the deceased's body to the opposing side, taking into account the deceased’s children's wish to have her buried in Armenia.

Azerbaijan made the necessary preparations to facilitate this humanitarian process, including obtaining the medical death certificate, and all documents were notarized, translated into English, and apostilled.

It was planned to transfer Agasyan’s body through the ICRC at the "Lachin" border checkpoint to the Armenian authorities on October 29 or 30. The opposing side was informed of the measures taken through the ICRC.

Despite nearly two months having passed since the request was made, no response has been received from the Armenian side. Recently, this issue was discussed repeatedly with the Red Cross, but the Armenian side did not respond to the ICRC's inquiry.

The Azerbaijani side believes that the request made to the ICRC by Agasyan’s children, who had previously shown no interest in their mother, to have her remains transferred to Armenia for burial is part of a disinformation campaign. The Armenian side was expected to refuse to accept the body, which could then be used for political purposes against Baku ahead of COP29, the statement says.

Baku once again reiterated its readiness to transfer Agasyan's remains to the opposing side, but due to the impossibility of storing human remains for a long period (according to religious customs and scientific consensus), if Armenia continues to refuse to accept the body by the end of January 2025, she will be buried in Azerbaijan, the message concluded.