The Beating Lasted for Four Days, Every Two Hours Like on a Schedule: BBC Speaks with Returned Service Members

The renowned BBC has prepared a report on Armenian captives, noting that while the war in Artsakh has ended, several dozen, or even hundreds, are unknown to anyone and have been detained in Baku’s prisons for months. They write home in letters that everything is fine, but those who have been lucky enough to return speak of constant beatings and inhumane treatment. The families of the soldiers request only one thing: to bring back their husbands, sons, and brothers to their homeland. However, the situation is unclear. Those detained in Azerbaijan are not considered prisoners of war; instead, they are accused of various crimes allegedly committed after the signing of the ceasefire agreement, according to Tert.am.

“Hello, my dear family. I received the letters and was very happy that everything is fine with you. I am good, my loved ones. Grandpa, dear, do not despair. Your son is well. Take care of yourselves, and watch your health. Mom, my dear, precious mother, take care of yourself, don’t despair for a moment and don’t worry too much,” wrote Sedrak Soghomonyan in his letter dated May 25, 2021, on an A4 sheet of paper. Sedrak is currently imprisoned in Baku.

The 26-year-old Sedrak was at home when Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a ceasefire declaration. “Then they called me. It was a change of shift at the positions. Everyone there is guarding their area. They also wanted to take my younger son, but I wrote a letter that they can’t take two men from the same family at the same time,” said Sedrak’s father, Samvel.

The last time father and son spoke on the phone was on December 13 at around 16:00. Sedrak mentioned that he was being replaced and would return home soon. After that, communication was lost. The next morning, the family learned that their son had been captured.

“The Azerbaijanis surrounded them. They said, ‘Boys, put down your weapons and come out. We will hand you over to the Russians nearby.’ But they did not hand them over; they tricked them,” Samvel Soghomonyan recounted.

Sedrak and other soldiers were stationed in the village of Hin Tagh in the Hadrut region of Artsakh. Communication was poor, and the terrain was difficult to navigate. The last village of the war was essentially at the front line. According to the agreement, Russian peacekeepers were supposed to be present in that area. However, there were considerable confusions at the moment of the signing and in the following days. Russian peacekeepers indicated on their maps that the village had passed to Azerbaijan and established themselves 15 km away from it. The Azerbaijanis thought the same. Armenians continued to replace their soldiers at a checkpoint near the village.

The events of December 12 in the unrecognized Artsakh are described as follows: Armenian soldiers stood in Hin Tagh when Azerbaijanis approached and claimed that the area belonged to them. The Armenians did not agree, leading to a firefight. Arman Tatoyan, Armenia's Human Rights Defender, was unable to answer directly who actually controlled the area at the time, stating, “I believe that area was controlled by Armenia, but I need to double-check.” Azerbaijan refers to the events as an anti-terror operation. After what happened, Russian peacekeepers quickly adjusted their maps to include Hin Tagh in the responsibility zone. Now Baku is calling the detainees “members of an armed group.” In response to the BBC's inquiry about how many Armenian citizens had been arrested on similar charges, Baku did not comment. Notably, according to Arman Tatoyan’s personal calculations, at least 300 captives are involved. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva stated that claims of humiliating Armenian prisoners of war are baseless.

Now, Armenian soldiers who have returned home speak of the brutal treatment of Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan. Hakob Hovhannisyan, a thin guy with a broad smile, immediately asks to not mention his real name and warns, “If by saying something I can harm the guys there, I would prefer not to speak…” Hakob and other servicemen were encircled on October 2 last year in Mataghis. They remained encircled for 20 days before being taken captive.

“We were sure they were going to stop us and kill us. We had a grenade with us for the purpose of blowing ourselves up, but we could not die heroically,” Hakob recalled, noting that he initially ended up in the military police station in Baku. “The cell was large, but we were kept in handcuffs. At first, there was only one detainee in the cell, then he was taken away, and I was left alone. The beating continued for four days, every two hours as though on a schedule. We weren't allowed to go to the restroom. I didn’t eat or drink for three days,” shared the former captive.

On the fifth day, Hakob was transferred to the Azerbaijani state security service, where the beating continued again. “Every day we were interrogated and beaten again, but this time even harder. On October 29, we were transported to prison for 40 minutes, during which we were beaten with exceptional cruelty,” he detailed. During the interrogation, the investigators were interested in the locations of tanks and the bunker of Artsakh’s President Araik Harutyunyan. Hearing about Sedrak Soghomonyan’s letter, in which the soldier says he is feeling well, Hakob shakes his head. “It’s impossible to send any signal from there. We were told that if anything unnecessary is written, the letter will not reach its destination. The Red Cross doesn’t collect letters right away; first, they read them, and those who speak Armenian well read them. Therefore, you try to write only that everything is fine, and I will return home. And I wrote in the same way.”

Another captive, Karina Sargsyan, wipes away her tears. Her real name is known to many, but she requests it not be mentioned as she does not want her story to be remembered again by Armenian media. A few months ago, Karina became the heroine of a widely circulated video on social networks that caused quite a stir: in the video, a woman wrapped in a blanket stands at the doorstep of her home as two soldiers approach her. “We are Azerbaijani soldiers; we have come to our homeland.” “Welcome to your home,” the woman responds.

“When I was taken captive, they said we need to inform your people that you are with us. But I had to read this text, ‘welcome to your home.’ They found some cellar where they threw a blanket over me. I was barely standing. They gave me a nyanka (Russian military drink). Although I doubt it was a nyanka because suddenly everything turned one for me. Just one,” the woman noted.

“I am a military person; this is my third war. When I went there (to Jabrayil, Jebrayil), there were many wounded, many corpses. And I had to provide first aid to send the guys to the hospital later. I contracted pneumonia here. And when it was time to retreat, I realized I simply couldn’t climb the mountains due to heavy weights, swellings, and the disease,” Sargsyan added, noting she was left alone.

Karina spent three days in encirclement. Then she found an easier path and moved forward. After, she heard voices. They were Azerbaijanis. The woman hid in a ravine but was not noticed. She knew there was a Armenian hospital three kilometers from the ravine. Passing through the ravines and avoiding Azerbaijani soldiers, she reached a building. But there were no people left there; the area had passed under the control of Azerbaijani forces. Not far from the former hospital was an abandoned store… Karina hid in the building. Several times, soldiers entered the store, taking tea, coffee, cigarettes, pastries, and water.

“But at some point, I must have fallen asleep. And they realized someone was in the building from my snoring. At first, they beat me with wood. Then, when I said I was surrendering, they pulled me out, holding my hair, and began to drag me back and forth, tearing my clothes. And half-naked, they dragged me for 800 meters with shackles. You can't imagine; when all those disgusting hands stretch towards you, but you cannot do anything,” the woman recalled.

Then came the “main one” – Ibrahim, whose name Karina cannot remember. He prohibited soldiers from touching the woman. After that, the famous video was filmed, where Karina greets Azerbaijani soldiers “in their home.” Notably, the woman was not in military uniform, and Ibrahim believed she was a local resident. Karina was taken to Baku, admitted to the hospital, and even documented the traces of the beatings. They put her in a car, drove her around the city, showed her the seaside, and fed her with kutab and baklava at a local café.

“Then they said I needed to give a press conference. They gave me the text to read. In that text, I accused Armenia of aggression and of all possible sins. And in the end, I had to say that we do not want any war, and it is Pashinyan who ordered to gather men and send them to war,” the woman noted.

After the press conference, Karina was taken back to the hospital. On the evening of the same day, Azerbaijani authorities discovered that the woman was not just a peaceful resident. From that moment, Karina was taken to a isolation facility, and interrogations began. In December, Karina was handed over to Armenia. In her hometown, she was greeted by Pushok, the only living creature in the family home. Remembering her beloved cat, Karina smiles for the first time.