Details added (first version posted on 18:41)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 2
By Samir Ali - Trend:
Azerbaijani citizen Habib Kazimov was tortured in Armenian captivity.
"I was traumatized and taken prisoner during the battles for the liberation of the Azerbaijani lands in 1993," Kazimov told Trend.
Kazimov said that the Armenians took him to Shusha prison, where he was severely tortured.
“As soon as I entered the prison yard, I was brutally beaten and tortured,” Kazimov added. “I was beaten by using fittings and other pieces of iron. There were Azerbaijani prisoners who could not stand the torture and committed suicide.”
“Both terrorists, who are on trial in Azerbaijan today, were involved in the torture,” Kazimov said. “Both of them had nicknames there. One was nicknamed Lyokha and the other Alyosha. Ludwik Mkritichyan was Lyokha. He says here that he does not know the Azerbaijani language. But there he was talking to us. He even insulted us in Azerbaijani.”
“During that period, they behaved as if they were famous terrorists,” Kazimov said. “They beat me by iron sticks. Now they pretend that they do not recognize us. They acted inhumanely. During my captivity, I was severely tortured. They tortured me more severely than others. The reason was that I was from Sumgayit. They beat and tortured me more severely because of the events in Sumgayit. Allah saved me. I didn't die, they didn't kill me. "
Kazimov said that a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visited him once in captivity.
“The Armenians beat me,” Kazimov said. “They said that a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross will visit us. So they took me to the children's hospital.”
“When that representative visited us, a translator was Armenian,” Kazimov added. “We were told that if we mention the name of the person who tortured the captives, the translator would not translate. That is why we could not complain. After the representative left, we were tortured again.”
“True justice is observed today,” Kazimov said.
Kazimov believed that the Armenians would be held accountable before the law.
“I believed that there will be true justice,” Kazimov said. “When I saw those terrorists, I was pleased that those who tortured us are getting a decent response today. But if it is up to me, I want them to be punished severely because they committed heinous crimes against Azerbaijani prisoners.”
“The Azerbaijani side treats Armenian criminals normally and does not put any pressure on them,” Kazimov said. “But none of the Armenians showed us mercy."