VIDEO. I have never been a traitor and I will never be: Azniv Baghdasaryan on the public's negative attitude

During the Artsakh war, the Azerbaijani side released a video in which Azerbaijani soldiers approach a woman named Azniv, who reportedly lives in Artsakh, and the woman welcomes them to their home. From the outset, Armenian society questioned her Armenian identity, but it later became clear that she is indeed Armenian, albeit a captive, and the video was staged. This is reported by armtimes.com.

A month after her captivity, Azerbaijan returned Azniv Baghdasaryan back to the Armenian side among other prisoners. Today, Azniv lives in one of the villages of Aparan under difficult social conditions. A video has been shared online showing her being visited by combat comrades who deliver financial assistance sent from abroad. In the same video, Azniv Baghdasaryan recounts some details about what happened to her.

Three months after her captivity, the combatant woman notes that she still cannot fully reintegrate into society, as people often accuse her and regard her with hatred. “I still can't get out of the house; I go to the store... some people look at me with sadness, some look indifferent, while others look at me with such hatred as if I was the one who lost the war. But I have never been a traitor and I will never be,” says Azniv Baghdasaryan emotionally, adding that she has loved, loves, and will love her homeland.

Describing the circumstances of her captivity, Azniv mentions that while being trapped in the Jabrail (Jrakan) area for two days and falling asleep, she ended up in the hands of Azerbaijanis. “I was shown the wrong direction. I came out on the cliff of Jabrail, hiding, where the Turks were already present. I saw two injured soldier boys and stayed by their side until they died, I shot until the last bullet, then I put the boys in a car. There were pigs wandering around; I didn’t want the pigs to eat the boys' bodies. It was my first time in Jabrail; I didn’t know the area well and got lost going towards Mount Ara. I knew that our people were still there, but by the time I reached, no one was left. I was surrounded for two days, and after that, the Turks foolishly caught me. I was asleep; if I hadn’t been asleep, they wouldn’t have caught me,” she reminisces, continuing, “They had brought me in after beating me up, where their weapons and ammunition were, they tore all my clothes, they gave me their Turkish outfit. Then during filming, they found a shirt and gave it to me. They thought they were doing me a disservice, but on the one hand, it was a favor to me.”

Azniv received financial assistance from her combat comrades, including her commander, Romik Khachatryan, who spoke about Azniv's human and military qualities, noting that she had been participating in the defense of the homeland since the years of the first Artsakh war, and from the time of the April war, she was included in the Central Division of the Defense Army and again took part in military operations. “Azniv, along with others, spent day and night without resting for a moment helping the wounded. On the 5th, when the attack occurred on the Jabrail military unit, Azniv and the girls provided first aid when our commander was injured. Azniv, being heavy-bodied, remained in the open field. Shells were exploding all around; she was in the middle of the open field, on her knees, praying,” recalls the commander, adding that he persuaded Azniv to a safer place, which had another Armenian squad.

The video is from the ArmVlog YouTube channel.