Before Reaching Baku, They Took Us to Military Facilities, and That's Where the Beating Started: What the Returned Citizen Describes

Our interview is with 40-year-old Sisak Yengoyan, a compatriot who returned from captivity days ago, along with 60 other boys from Shirak province, after being captured in Khuzaberd following the end of the war.

What inhumane treatment do our compatriots receive in captivity, especially before reaching the fortress in Baku? How do Azerbaijanis beat one Armenian with ten people? Who are the Armenians under Azerbaijani names? These and other questions were discussed in our conversation with Sisak, who endured seven long months of captivity.

- Sisak, I know it's difficult for you to talk about this, but as much as you can, can you share when and where you were captured?

- On December 13, we were captured from Khuzaberd with 60 people. We were surrounded, and it was right there that they took us prisoner. The forces were unequal; behind us was the Lachin region, which was surrendered on December 1 according to the agreement, and in front was Hadrut, which had been occupied during the war. On our left was that corridor, Khuzaberd, which was reoccupied after the ceasefire. And it was as a result of this occupation that we found ourselves surrounded, with our only exit blocked.

- So Khuzaberd was captured after the ceasefire?

- Yes.

- And why did you stay after the ceasefire?

- We were waiting for the commander, and then when he called, he said that the war was over, and we were already unable to leave.

- Who was the commander?

- Honestly, I don’t remember; it was a confusing time.

- Where were you taken initially?

- There was one or two Azerbaijani escorts for each of us; they first made us walk through forests and mountains to Hadrut, and then they took us to military facilities in military vehicles.

- Did they beat you or humiliate you on the way?

- No, imagine, they even talked to us on the way.

- What did you talk about?

- Everything; about the conflict, the reasons for the war.

- And what did they say?

- They said they didn’t want the war either; it just happened that way.

- Did they speak in Armenian?

- Some of them did; in Baku, a lot of people spoke Armenian. We were told in Baku that there are thirty thousand Armenians living hidden under changed names. And in all of Azerbaijan, they say there are about fifty thousand Armenians. There were hidden Armenians who worked as interpreters; some of them were in the courts as disguised Armenians.

- Well, what happened next?

- Before reaching Baku, they took us to military facilities, and that’s where the beating started. We were literally subjected to beatings for three days before reaching Baku. Ten people beat one person with sticks and iron; they pushed me down with their feet. I won’t even talk about the insults.

- Did they beat you at the fortress in Baku? Were you humiliated there?

- There were no beatings at the fortress in Baku, but insults were certainly heard every day. However, the beatings stopped gradually over time.

- Were all 60 of you kept together?

- We were on the same floor, but in different cells. If you didn’t obey, you were punished.

- For example, how did they punish you?

- They would make you stand on one foot for hours and insult you. You know, now I feel more anxious than I did there because I’m thinking about the guys who are still there. Until all of them are brought out, I cannot feel at peace; I believe that day will come too.