Three Azerbaijanis claim torture in captivity

Azerbaijanis Shakhbaz Guliev and Dilgam Askerov, who had been imprisoned in Nagorno-Karabakh for six years, as well as the released prisoner of war (POW) Amin Musaev, reported about beatings and deprivation of food in captivity.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 5, 2020, Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed to exchange POWs under the principle of "all for all." On December 15, 44 people returned to Armenia, and 14 ones returned to Azerbaijan, including Shakhbaz Guliev and Dilgam Askerov, who back in 2014, had been sentenced in Nagorno-Karabakh to 22 years and life imprisonment, respectively.

Dilgam Askerov said that he was detained at the border in Nagorno-Karabakh when he was visiting his father's house. He claims that he had two fingers broken and the bones of his skull damaged. "During the week, while I was in Khankendi, they gave me no food. As a result, I lost weight from 105 kilograms down to 55. There I was beaten with the butt of a submachine gun," he said, adding that electricity was also used for torture.

Shakhbaz Guliev said that law enforcers tortured him trying to obtain testimonies against Askerov. According to his story, he was beaten with truncheons, as a result, his back was beaten off and his arm was broken. According to Guliev, no officials of the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) were let to visit him, so that they would not see traces of torture, the "Sputnik-Azerbaijan" reports.

Amin Musaev, a military serviceman, said that he was wounded and captured during the hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh. "I was hit from behind and dragged [...] They hit me in the sanitary vehicle too, after which I lost consciousness. I woke up already at hospital," the APA News Agency quoted him as saying. According to Musaev, beatings continued at hospital too.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 8, 2021 at 01:45 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.