The genocide against the people of Azerbaijan is accompanied by innumerous atrocities – thousands of elderly people, women and children have been barbarously murdered in Khojaly, Shusha, Lachin, Kalbajar, Agdere, Agdam, Fizuli, Gubadly and Zangilan regions, dead bodies are mutilated. Thousands of civilian, having nothing in common with military action, have been taken hostage. They are subjected to the most barbarous tortures and humiliation they have become objects of extortion, threat, blackmail and speculation.
There are about 4 thousand Azeris who are currently in the hands of the Armenians. Most of them are physically unfit crippled helpless people, among them there are 84 children. 363 women, 244 elderly people over 60 years old. There art many families taken hostage all together.
The family of the Mammedovs` consisting of 6 (3 of them women) were taken hostage by Armenians in February 26, 1992, trying to escape the massacre in Khojaly. The family of the Gulievs`, 15 people altogether, women and children, among them were taken hostage in March this year in Kilsiali village, Kelbajar region, in June – 19 members of the Noukhievs family from Koirazilli village, Fizuli region, the eldest of them was 80, the youngest were 8 (Khatira), 6 (Leila), 4 (Narmina). There are other families taken hostage by the Armenian”: the Sariyevs` (4 members), the Khalilovs` from the Agdam region (5 members), the Zeinalovs` and Jamilovs` from Chorman village (13 people), the Karimovs`, the Ahmadovs`, the Hasanov`s, the Amraliyevs` from Bashlibel village of the Kelbajar region (31 people).
There is no age limit for hostages to be taken. Here are some facts about elderly people held hostage: Mirasta Magerramova from Lachin – 81 years old: Farroukh Tagiyev from Shousha – 84 years old: Eyub Aliyev from Agdam – 89 years old: Gulsum Abbasova and Tamam Verdiyeva from Kelbad¬jar – both 93 years old; Moulaim Hasanova, Hasan Gasimov -93 years old, Gulgez Jafarova – 95 years old; Mayakhanum Gadimova – 98 years old. Two of the hostages are over 100 years old. So, among hostages there arc 54 people who are over 70 years old, 23 of the hostages arc over 80 years old; 31 of the hostages are 90 years old.
The inhabitants of Chorman village, Kelbajar region Roya Zeinalova and Roya Jalilova were taken hostage together with their children, other children hostages from the same village are Natavan Orujova – 3 years old, Ragsana Alishova – 1 year old. The inhabitants of Bashlibel village Arzou Airaliyeva’s and Afet Mirzoyeva’s children are under one year old but they have already known the bitter taste of being ta¬ken hostage.
The atrocities and mercilessness of the Armenians have exceeded the limits of all existing human and legal norms. This can be confirmed again by the fact of the capture and taking hostage of 7 mental patients of the local mental hospital in the occupied Agdam region. As a result of long negotiations and interference of the international organisations three of them, Mousa Gojayev, Jamilia Aslanova, Elshan Gashimov were released. The other four are still held as hostages in the Children’s Hospital of Khankandi. Mental patients captured in other regions are suffering the same fate.
The Armenian violence machine is carrying out an ethnic purge on the occupied territories, driving away not only Azeris but also the representatives of other nationalities – Russians, Kurds, Lezgins, Meskheti Turks and others. Hundreds of Kurds have been taken hostage, they used to inhabit Zangilan, Gou-batli, Jabrayil regions together with Meskheti Turks who found shelter here, Russians and Lezgins who have been living here for many years. It is obvious that 80 years old Anna Rigalova, 81 year old Maria Korobova, 22-year-old Galina Gennadievich taken hostage by the Armenian guerillas could hardly be considered as persons having any relation to military action.
Numerous inquiries made by the international organisations about the fate of several Meskheti Turks Alisher and Jabbar Benaliyevs, Akhmed Ilyasov, Ali Bediyev, Osman Hamdiyev and Gadim Guliyev taken hostage in 1992 during the genocide in Khojaly, have been ignored by the Armenian party. Going unpunished, encouraged by their patrons on the international level, the Armenians keep on committing their cynical crimes. In October 23-rd 1993 five members of the Ragimovs family of Meskheti Turks were taken hostage on the territory of Zangilan region.
The head of the family, 60 years old Sadri Radimov had had two severe heart attacks, 57 years old Savia Ragimova had had diabetes, 13 years old Vagif Ragimov had had asthma. Rakhima Vakhidova, a Meskhetian Turk, suffering from a mental disease, who had settled in Georgia as a refugee was captured on the territory of Georgia and transferred to Yerevan, later she was sent back to Azerbaijan as an Azeri. The list of facts confirming the policy of the “Great Armenia from Sea to Sea” and the genocide carried out by Yerevan is too long.
The 1949 Geneva Conventions and the additional protocols contain provisions according to which the state`s guarantee security and life, respect and protection of personal rights and religious beliefs of the prisoners of war and civilians falling in the power of an adverse party.
The Azerbaijani party steadily follows these norms. The Government issued documents officially banning to take civilians as hostages. More than 70 armenian hostages held by several families were brought together and released unconditionally and unilaterally. However, the Armenian party is ignoring these norms, treating the prisoner of war in the most cruel way, denying them a minimum guarantee of humane treating.
Women, children and elderly people are suffering more than others. There are facts of the unnecessary operations of a three-year-old Shovgi Aliyev whose part of the right arm bone has been amputated together with muscles obviously with the aim of using it in transplantation.
Nazaket Mammadova, a 15-year-old girl was taken hostage together with her father in Shusha in May 8, 1992. Her father’s honour and dignity was being humiliated in her presence for a long time. He was severely beaten, his ear was cut off, he was tortured with red-hot iron and made an invalid. Only after that he was released but his daughter was held hostage until April 4, 1993, when she was finally sold to her family for 4 million manats. Her mother could not endure all there extortions and threats and lost her mind.
A 15-year-old girl, Ofelia Guliyeva has been held hostage for 8 months already. She is suffering from the incurable bullet wound on her arm but in spite of this the Armenian party denies medical care to the girl who is thus doomed to die slowly and painfully and ignore the persistent requests of the International Committee of the Red Cross refusing to release the child.
A 2-year-old girl Nurlana Kerimova is suffering even a harder fate. She has lost eyesight owing to serious traumas of the head she got during her 4 month period of being held hostage. However, the heaviest loss the baby has suffered has been her mother’s death who couldn’t stand moral and physical humiliation and committed suicide after two unsuccessful attempts.
According to the local people’s and also that of Farhad Yusifov who had shared the hardships of prison life with a 60-year-old man Islam Hajiyev from the Gubadly region, he had been practically healthy before he was taken hostage. The Armenians subjected him to cruel beatings, hit him on the head repeatedly so he went out of his mind, he was subjected to humiliations and torture: he was forced to lick the dirty floor, to stand still hours, he was beaten cruelly and repeatedly so his kidneys were affected.
A 83-years-old inhabitant of Korazilli village of the Fizuli region Tamasha Noukhiyeva died 3 days after she had been exchanged. Her 47-year-old son Vagif Noukhiyev died as a result of severe beatings being held hostage.
Young girls and women, prisoners of war and young hostages are being treated in the most inhuman, brutal way. Many of them die owing to the denial of medical care and food, severe beatings and torture. These are the facts of such deaths: 17 prisoners of the Shusha prison, 7 persons – in the Khankendi kindergarten, 5 persons – in the Khankendi Children’s Hospital died either owing to the aforementioned reasons or committed a suicide unable to endure the sufferings. Another fact of torture and death: the deputy Head of the Kafan Police Board, Gasmanob, subjected Magerram Makhiatdinov to daily severe beatings and made him insane, after that the victim died from numerous haemorrhages of the internal organs. The Armenians of the military police knocked out the hip joint of Zaur Gulmammedov, shot at Arzu Ibrahimov’s leg, beat Rafig Pashayev severely and repeatedly until he lost his memory, dis¬located Rafail Talibov’s arm. The latter was injected some strange orange substance. 10 days after the injection he lost half of his weight, lost his memory, became apathetic, did not respond to outside, could not control his movements.
In August 1993 the Armenian policemen brought Zakir Vekiloglu in a car and threw him out in the outskirts of Kirova settlement of Marneuli region. Georgia who died after a coma in Kazakh local Hospital. The postmortem investigation showed that he had died because of starvation and traumas. It was recorded that his body was covered with cigarette burns and haemorrhages, right hand and left foot nails had been pulled out, internal organs had been damaged.
According to some former prisoners of war and hostages’ evidence Armenian policemen, military men and civilians bring prisoners of war out of their cells at a definite hour, especially into the corridor, subject them to physical and moral tortures, beat them severely, force them to fight each other, break teeth and bones, pull out fingernails and so on. They burnt out a cross on Gulmammdov’s chest. The so called armenian “doctors” cut Gulmammedov’s wound to take out the bullet using ordinary scissors without any anaesthesia after which they made stitches with an ordinary needle.
Out “civilised” neighbours have introduced and are practicing a strange habit not known anywhere else – prisoners’, hostages and dead bodies’ sale. There have appeared “specialists” who have good “business” in this deal. They interrogate the prisoners and hostages jointly with the representatives of the authorities finding out their financial background. After that they take those prisoners of war hostages who potentially can pay, come into contact with their relatives and arrange sales.
The price of a living person three months ago was 3-15 million roubles, a dead body cost 1-3 million roubles. Now the price risen: 30 million for a living person, 5 million for a dead body.
The authorities of Armenia resort to all kinds of tricks to conceal its aggressive intentions concerning Azerbaijan. Armenia tries to pose claims on the territory of the sovereign republic as the fight of the Armenians of Karabakh. At the same time the; Armenians do not deny the fact that there are Azeri prisoners of war and hostages on the territory of their country. Actually, the figures are not true, according to them there are only 34 prisoners of war. However, according to our sources and witnesses’ evidence there are 12 POWs in the Sesian Police Board, 27 POWs in the military-political Board N 10724 of Yerevan; 10 POWs in the Kafan Police Board, 8 POWs and hostages in the Vardenis Police Board, etc.
Civilians Farhad Yusifov, Islam Hajiyev, Kamil Veliyev, Telish Niftaliyeva, Geichak Ismayilova captured in August 28-30 1993 in the Zangilan and Gubadly regions were brought back to Azerbaijan from Yerevan. This is another evidence of the hypocrisy of the Armenian authorities, misinforming the world community about the Azeri POWs and hostages. The fact that POWs and hostages are being taken to Armenia confirms once again that all actions of Nagorny Karabakh are being coordinated by Armenia.
Since the conflict started, our Republic has lost over 10 thousand lives, 30 thousand people have been wounded, 50 thousand people have become disabled. The basic ethnic resources have been seriously damaged. A quarter of the territory of the Republic has been occupied for the past five and a half years, over 600 settlements have been ruined, over 4 thousand industrial and agricultural enterprises, over 80 thousand houses with a total area of more than 6 mln. sq. metres, over 2 thousand objects of social and cultural purpose, among them 490 secondary schools, 151 kindergartens, 200 objects of medical care have been irreparably damaged.
Over 70 per cent of summer pastures have been occupied by the enemy. The seized territories and objects are being officially ransacked.
The former hostages Girtamam Nadjafova, Yusif Farkha-dov, Gamra Kuliyev and others witnessed that the Armenians had been ransacking their houses in their presence. Sometimes they forced them to help the robbers. Gamra Kuliyev from Milanli village, Gubadly region, saw with his own eyes the soldiers plunder 60 houses of the village, load their trucks and drive in the direction of Armenia. The Armenians boasted that they had burnt down villages and ruined houses.
Our soldiers captured Armais Minasian, the inhabitant of Uhe Tekh village, Goriss region, Armenia, Serezha Bagirian, Hamlet Mkrtichian, Benik and Edic Allahverdian, Ounar Sarkisian, the inhabitants of Khankendi, Vagif Grigorian from the Dashalti village, Shusha region while they were looting our Villages. All those under arrest admitted that they had been systematically looting houses on the occupied territories.
