Vigen was Beaten: I Thought They Were Going to Burn Us Alive, Maral Najaryan Shares Details

Today, Maral Najaryan, who was captured by Azerbaijani forces and has since been released and returned home to Beirut, shared details of her captivity in an interview with Shant TV. She recounted the circumstances leading to her being taken as a prisoner.

“When we reached Shushi, soldiers surrounded us and asked where we were from. We answered that we were coming from Yerevan and that Vigen's belongings were in a hotel in Shushi and needed to be collected. They asked for our passports and took them, along with our phones, wallet, and car keys. They made us get out and told us to wait there, promising that if they saw no issues with us, they would send us back to Yerevan.”

“When they activated the phone, they saw a photo of Vigen from his time as a volunteer and said they couldn’t let us go; we were labeled terrorists. They beat Vigen and then loaded us into an SUV and took us to Azerbaijan. Inside the SUV, there were gas canisters, and they closed the doors and windows. My eyes were open, but they had closed Vigen's eyes; I thought they were going to burn us alive,” she recounted.

She noted that she was very frightened at that moment and had no hope of surviving: “But I prayed to God again, saying, ‘God, give me strength and power to endure; I trust you.’ I was not beaten at all. They treated me normally; I wouldn’t say it was very good, but it was normal.”