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The Armenian prisoners of war (POWs), who repatriated earlier this week, have suffered torture in the Azerbaijani captivity, Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Kristinne Grigoryan said on Friday.

Azerbaijan freed 17 Armenian prisoners following U.S. mediation on 4 October.

Speaking at a news conference in Yerevan, the ombudswoman said she and her staffers held separate meetings with the soldiers who testified to mistreatment and torture they had endured in Azerbaijani captivity.

“Medical procedures were conducted without anesthesia. It’s about surgeries and wound treatments, which require the use of anesthesia,” the defender said.

Grigoryan also said all her attempts to contact her Azerbaijani counterpart for more information about Armenian captives were in vain.

“HRDs should be apolitical and committed to protecting human rights, but she never gets in touch with us. I asked my counterpart for a short conversation in early September and on September 13, but I received no response," she said.

Grigoryan underscored that the atrocities and numerous human rights violations committed by Azerbaijani forces must be brought to the negotiating table.