KYIV. April 16 (Interfax) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said that it participated in the prisoner exchange between Kyiv and the unrecognized Donbas republics as a neutral party on Thursday, in order to confirm the consent of prisoners to be transferred and make sure that the operation was carried out in accordance with international humanitarian standards.
Since the beginning of the conflict, this is the fourth prisoner exchange in which the ICRC has participated as a neutral mediator, the ICRC said in a statement published on Thursday.
In particular, 38 people were released on Thursday, of them, 34 were swapped between the opposing sides; some of them have been in custody for the past six years. Their wish to be transferred to the opposing side was preliminarily confirmed, the statement said.
The organization said that such operations for the release and handover of prisoners are of major humanitarian value.
The ICRC is willing to continue supervising the fate of persons set free during the recent exchange, as well as the future of persons who are still being held due to the conflict.
"It was necessary to take relevant precautions amid the threat of coronavirus. However, the operation [for swapping prisoners] was completed without any problems, and the freed people will go home shortly, as soon as they pass all of the required preventive procedures in connection with the Covid-19 outbreak. They will be able to meet their families in the near future, which is even more important amid the current pandemic. The ICRC will continue following the fates of those released and those who are still being held in custody due to the conflict," the statement said.