Baku, May 13, AZERTAC

Israel-based "Challenges of time" information portal has published an article headlined "Israeli mother's appeal to release her son from captivity remains unanswered " by Mila Abramovich and Arye Gut (http://isp-ngo.com/?p=2449). The article highlights the story of soldier Vugar Mikayilov (Mikhailov), an Azerbaijani Jew, who was taken hostage by Armenians 23 years ago.

The article says: "The world has seen many wars and tragedies and the worst ones left an indelible scar in the hearts of people. Recently we have met the family of Vugar Mikayilov (Mikhailov), an Azerbaijani soldier of Jewish origin, who is still in Armenian captivity. We met his family at the Azerbaijani Mountain Jews Coordinating Center in the city of Acre. Head of the Azerbaijani Mountain Jews Community Shirin Nehemiah Michaeli was also present at the meeting."

"Vugar's mother Nina Mikayilova, who now lives in the Israeli city of Kiryat Bialik, said that Vugar was drafted into the Azerbaijani army in the 1990s, and he served with honor and dignity."

The article says: "Vugar was born on January 4, 1974 in the Azerbaijani town of Goychay. He was a very organized, disciplined and responsible boy. "Like another Azerbaijani hero of Jewish origin Albert Agarunov, Vugar did not dodge military service, he wanted to stay with his fellows, though his brother asked him to go and work in Kazakhstan. Vugar was mobilized into the police battalion 54/56 in July of 1992, he served in Sheketli village in Fuzuli region and came home just once. When I saw my boy for the last time, I hugged him so tightly… My heart felt that we will be far apart," said Nina Mikayilova, and burst into tears.

Vugar Mikayilov's (Mikhailov's) mother remembers that his friend Ramiz from Agdash region said that Vugar went missing on January 28, 1993, during the fighting against Armenian invaders in Uruyandag village in Fuzuli region, when he tried to save his friend, who was wounded in his leg."

"Vugar's classmate Azer from Goychay who was also taken hostage by Armenians, said that he saw Vugar near the villages of Stepanakert, where Armenians used the Azerbaijani soldiers and civilians as labors. Azer said he saw Vugar alive. As for Azer, he miraculously managed to escape from Armenian captivity," the article quotes Vugar`s mother as saying.

Vugar's brother Ilgar Mikayilov (Mikhailov) says: "I want to find my brother. Our family misses Vugar so much. We know that prisoners from Azerbaijan, who have been taken captives by Armenians, are being tortured, it's terrible. The killing and inhuman treatment of thousands of innocent Azerbaijanis taken hostage by Armenians, is one of the most terrible and bloody pages of the military aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan."

"Vugar's mother said that his father Ibrahim Mikayilov (Mikhailov) could not bear separation from his son and stories of Azerbaijani civilians who were taken captive by Armenians. "In 2006 he died from a heart attack. He knew that our son was also tortured by Armenians," she said."

"My husband Ibrahim always lived with a hope to find his son. I remember during the Easter, ex-president of Armenia Robert Kocharian paid a visit to Israel. My husband met with him but it did not work out. It was the last hope for my husband. Kocharian promised to help. We knew that Kocharian was one of the ideologists and organizers of the bloody massacre of Azerbaijani civilians in Khojaly. But my husband thought he would take pity on desperate parents… Kocharian went back from his word and showed the true treacherous essence of the current leadership of the Armenia," Nina Mikayilova said."

"She added that their family even appealed to authoritative rabbis- kabbalists in Israel, and they said that Vugar Mikayilov is alive, he is in the hands of the enemy, and after a new large-scale war Vugar along with other Azerbaijani prisoners will return home."

"Help me and my family to bring my son back home, I have not seen him for 23 years... I know that the Armenian captivity is similar to fascist… We live in Israel, but our homeland is Azerbaijan, and we never forget it. Azerbaijan has always been in our hearts…," the article quotes Nina as saying.

"Head of the Azerbaijani Mountain Jews Community of Acre, Shirin Nehemiah Michaeli said that Nagorno-Karabakh is a heart and soul of Azerbaijan and the cradle of the Azerbaijani culture." "We, Mountain Jews, natives of Azerbaijan, are proud of our brother Albert Agarunov, one of the first national heroes of independent Azerbaijan and a symbol of the courage of the Azerbaijani and Jewish peoples in the war against the Armenian Dashnak invaders. There were many other Jews who were fighting for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan along with Albert, but there were also those who went missing. One of them is my cousin Vugar Mikayilov. His family lives in different cities of Israel. His mother, his older brother and sister are looking forward to see him alive after 23 years in Armenian captivity," the article quotes Shirin Nehemiah Michaeli as saying.

"A question arises: Why did not Armenians release Vugar after learning that he was Jew? I think Armenians had information about all the prisoners, and of course, Vugar said that he was a Jew, not Azerbaijani. There may be two reasons:

The first is that the attitude toward Jews in Armenia has always been negative since anti-Semitism dominated in this country, and that is one of the important reasons why the Jews left Armenia. Let's not forget that the cult of personality of such fascists as General Dro and general Nzhdeh, who massacred 30,000 Jews in the Crimea during the World War II, still exists in Armenia.

Secondly, it is interesting why Head of the Jewish community of Armenia Rimma Varzhapetyan did not help a Jewish family. She could perfectly understand distress of a Jewish mother, but she remains silent, fulfilling orders of the terrorist regime of Sargsyan."

The third reason is that Vugar Mikayilov (Mikhailov) is a witness and a victim of the fascist atrocities conducted by Armenians against Azerbaijanis in camps. That is the reason why they are afraid to release him as a living witness. We are waiting for a response from Armenia," the article says.