What place has Baku allocated to the RA NSS IDMS system related to missing persons?

June 29 “Forgotten June 29. Why does the government that increased the number of missing persons not remember whether the Armenian side is “taking advantage” of Armen Abazyan’s agreement with Baku? in the article We reminded of the meetings of the state commissions dealing with the issues of missing persons of Armenia and Azerbaijan and their representatives during 2025, and that in June 2025, at that time, the director of the NSS, Armen Abazyan, informed that “We have a preliminary agreement that we will jointly carry out search operations.” 

And on June 30?n: Deputy Head of State Security Service of Azerbaijan Sharafat Hasanov reported that jointly with the International Commission on Missing Persons issue a unified information system for registration of missing persons – IDMS.

And the most remarkable thing is that IDMS servers will be located on the territory of Azerbaijan.

And in this context, Hasanov stated that both Azerbaijani and RA citizens can provide confidential information about missing persons and possible places of their burial.

We have sent a written request to the RA National Security Service to specifically find out whether the arrangements of the former director of the National Security Service of the National Security Service Armen Abazyan have been moved to the practical stage, or whether the National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia was offered to create a joint database on missing persons, if yes, why was it left out of the process in this case, and whether RA citizens will transfer relevant confidential information to Baku through the National Security Service, how will this risky process be controlled, etc.

As soon as we receive a reply from the National Security Service directly subordinated to Nikol Pashinyan, we will present it. And before that, we tried to hear opinions about this from different perspectives in order to understand the level of risk for Armenia.

Information security expert Samvel Martirosyan 168.amin a conversation with

“It is a unified system where there is as much data as possible on missing persons. It also includes DNA data, its processing, storage. I don’t know many details in this case, but I assume that this is the reason for locating the servers in the territory of Azerbaijan. I think that if Armenia implements this system, they will demand that the IDMS servers be placed in Armenia, because there we are dealing with the processing of biological data, which is prohibited in many countries to be taken out of the country. I mean, I don’t see any risks here for us.”

There may be no purely technical risks, but the proposal addressed to RA citizens may create risky situations, from the “sale” of confidential information (if this will not be done through the National Security Service, although there may be other problems here) to the collection of information on participants in wars, especially when Baku gives specific names and remembers specific “war crimes” in the context of finding out the fate of missing persons.

Moreover, during the “trial” in Baku, the names of some of their heroes, even considered missing by Azerbaijan, were given, as well as those responsible for their fate on the Armenian side.

In particular, in the context of the “Khojalu incidents”, the missing national hero of Azerbaijan is often remembered in Baku Natig Gasimov and claims that he was “killed by Vitaly Balasanyan”. And the Gasimov family is in the center of Aliyev’s constant attention, which, of course, is also done for propaganda purposes. This is the first.

Second, in December 2024, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan to the relevant authorities of Armenia invited to cooperate in the criminal case against the former military and political leaders of Artsakh under detention in Baku and not only.

“Guided by serious grounds, according to which Most of the persons considered as suspects or witnesses in the episodes discussed during the investigation are now in the territory of the Republic of Armenia, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan RA invites the relevant authorities to cooperate.” it is mentioned in the statement of the Azerbaijani department about 2 years ago.

RA General Prosecutor’s Office in March 2025 168.amto had reported that they did not receive an official offer of cooperation from the Prosecutor’s Office of Azerbaijan.

Gegham Manukyan, a member of the National Assembly “Armenia” bloc, 168.amIn a conversation with the Deputy Head of the State Security Service of Azerbaijan, Sharafat Hasanov, he sees risks and dangers in the footnote of the statement, not considering the problem in a purely technical field.

“There are several disturbing, if not threatening, provisions in this statement.

First, it is unknown what the Armenian side has to do with Azerbaijan’s initiative, and whether the RA NSS participated in this process or not.

Secondly, the collection of such anonymous data carries the risk that the data of our compatriots who participated in military operations in one way or another will be identified and in the hands of Azerbaijan. Thirdly, it is highly unacceptable in terms of the national security of our country that Azerbaijan initiates the collection of anonymous information by citizens of Armenia, which can be used against Armenia at any time,” he says.

And here the question arises: does Armenia, following the example of Azerbaijan, have a plan to have an Armenian IDMS system, when the relevant servers will be placed in Armenia, as information security specialist Samvel Martirosyan spoke about, and will the process of transferring information about missing persons be mirrored and proportional.

For example, Azerbaijan was reminded yesterday that since the tripartite announcement of November 9, 2020, Azerbaijan has handed over the bodies and relics of more than 2,000 Armenian soldiers found on the battlefield to the Armenian side. This perhaps mostly refers to the 44-day war and perhaps the aftermath. But in the 44-day war, the Armenian side officially has about 190 missing, and about 800 from the first war, etc.

In fact, there is no information about whether the remains of any person considered missing from the first war have been found, but since last year, at least on the Azerbaijani side, such relics of their volunteers or soldiers have been found.

Anyway, let’s wait for the National Security Service to respond to our questions, the letter, and the development of events.

But here, in any case, it is necessary to remind that the relatives of the missing freedom fighters of the “Arabo” detachment in 2008 had reported that the Azerbaijani side circulated a video on the Internet, where their sons were depicted, they were all killed.

Note that in 1992 on this very day, June 29, the fighters of the “Arabo”, “Artsiv 13”, “Zeytun”, “Jraberd”, “Armavir” detachments participating in the combat operations of Leninavan, Haykajur (Hasan-Ghaya) villages of the Martakert region of the NKR remained under siege, and the fate of 79 freedom fighters is still unknown.

—