«It was as if someone was standing above her head telling her what to say»: Granddaughter of a woman who died in Artsakh

"We last spoke six months ago, and she said, 'I will come, wait for me, I will come, don’t worry about me.'" This was stated by the granddaughter of 70-year-old Vera Agasyan, who died in occupied Stepanakert on October 20, in an interview with NEWS.am.

When asked where she was living, she replied, 'We are in a small room, that’s where we are. As many people as are left in Stepanakert, we are together, they give us bread.' However, when they asked other questions and inquired about how they were treated there, they disconnected the call from the Red Cross, not allowing her grandmother to answer those questions.

Later, they would call back and say, 'Grandma says don’t ask such questions.' When they asked if there were many Turks there and whether they interacted with them, they were again not allowed to respond to those inquiries. They would disconnect again, then call back, saying, 'Grandma says don’t ask such questions, just ask how she is and how they are doing there,'" said the granddaughter, adding that they had called via video call on WhatsApp.

The granddaughter mentions that they noticed sadness on her grandmother's face: "It seemed as if someone was standing above her head and telling her what to say, they were intimidating her. When she spoke with us, she was looking elsewhere, then would respond to my questions," she noted, stating that she found out about her death from the media.

The granddaughter said that her grandmother only had high blood pressure: "She was a hardworking woman, never complained that she was tired. She had no issues, did not complain about her health. It’s not like we had a bad relationship and she didn’t talk to us about her problems. We were very close as families; I love my grandmother a lot, and she loves us too. I think they did things that made her heart stop. I don't believe she had lung problems. If she was sick, why didn’t they tell us? I told them that my grandmother has mental health issues; she cannot decide whether to stay there or come here, send her, let her come to Armenia. They said no, she must want to come herself," the granddaughter shared.

Earlier, it was reported about the death of the Armenian woman Vera Agasyan who remained in Stepanakert. Her death was attributed to acute cardiac-pulmonary insufficiency developed as a result of pulmonary artery thrombosis. The family is now preparing to appeal to the International Committee of the Red Cross to have the woman’s body buried in Armenia.