Azernews.Az

At the ongoing trial in the Baku Military Court, Zahid Hasanov, a victim and former prisoner of war, gave a harrowing testimony describing his capture and the torture he endured while in Armenian captivity.

Azernews reports via Azertag that Hasanov recounted that on March 7, 1994, he was wounded in the village of Ashagi Seyidahmadli in the Fuzuli district. He remained there until March 8, when Armenian forces entered the village. “There were four of us who were injured. They took us captive. Even as they transported us in a KamAZ truck while we were wounded, and later in the hospital — they tortured us,” he said.

Hasanov stated that they were held at Children’s Hospital No. 3 in Khankendi, along with other Azerbaijani captives — including women and children. “The International Committee of the Red Cross didn’t attend to us. There was a representative named Mark, and a nurse named Veronika. I was held there for about a month and a half. Mark visited only twice, never examined our wounds or did anything meaningful. He was drunk both times, and the interpreters with him were Armenian girls,” Hasanov testified. “Later, we were transferred to Shusha prison. Mark never showed up there at all.”

He added that during their time at the hospital in Khankendi, local schoolchildren were brought in by their teachers to see the prisoners. “They pointed at us and told the children, ‘Look, these are Turks — your enemies.’ The children spat at us and threw stones.”

Hasanov also testified that some prisoners were beaten to death, and that the torture was clearly inflicted because they were Azerbaijani. “They beat us for no other reason than our identity,” he said.

The case is part of a broader legal process in Azerbaijan, in which Armenian nationals are being prosecuted for a wide range of crimes — including war crimes, crimes against humanity, violations of the laws and customs of war, terrorism, the financing of terrorism, illegal seizure of power, and the preparation and conduct of aggressive war, among others.

The trial will resume on May 29.