Detention of Dilgam Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev

Dilgam Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev (Azerbaijani: Dilqəm Əsgərov, Şahbaz Quliyev) are Russian and Azerbaijani citizens, respectively,[1] who were detained by the forces of the unrecognized Republic of Artsakh near Kalbajar, Azerbaijan in July 2014, after crossing the Nagorno-Karabakh Line of Contact. At the time, Kalbajar District was occupied by Armenian forces. Asgarov and Guliyev crossed the Line of Contact with a third man, Hasan Hasanov, who was later shot to death.[2]

Detention of Dilgam Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev
DateJuly 2014
Location
Kalbajar, Azerbaijan

Asgarov and Guliyev crossed the Line of Contact in Kalbajar to visit their relatives' graves. The Armenian-allied forces detained both, and later shot Hasanov.[2] The Armenian and Artsakh authorities accused Asgarov and Guliyev of kidnapping and killing the 17-year-old Smbat Tsakanyan near Kalbajar, while accusing Hasanov of shooting and killing Sargis Abrahamyan, a major in the Armenian Army, and seriously wounding a woman he was driving with, Karine Davtyan, on the road from Vardenis to Kalbajar.[3] The Armenian authorities described the three men as "saboteurs" and considered Asgarov and Guliyev "criminals" in the employ of the Azerbaijani authorities, not prisoners of war.[4] Both Asgarov and Guliyev denied these charges, and the Azerbaijani authorities regarded them as hostages.[5] Asgarov and Guliyev were tried in the Republic of Artsakh, which is not recognised by the international law,[2] and sentenced to life imprisonment and 22 years imprisonment, respectively․[6] Subsequently, a number of members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe signed a statement calling for both to be freed pending a trial by an internationally recognized court.[7]

On 14 December, after the signing of the ceasefire agreement ending the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Armenia agreed to return Asgarov and Guliyev as part of a prisoner exchange mediated by Russia.[8] After his return, Asgarov himself stated that he was subjected to "immeasurable torture" during his imprisonment.[9]

Background

Dilgam Asgarov was born in 1960 in the village of Azizli in the Vardenis district of the Armenian SSR, adjacent to Kalbajar District of the Azerbaijani SSR. He served as a scout in Kalbajar on the Azerbaijani side during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War and holds Russian citizenship. Shahbaz Guliyev, a citizen of Azerbaijan, was born in 1968 in the village of Gapanli in the Tartar District of the Azerabaijani SSR.[3] Before the July 2014 incident, Asgarov had been living and working in Russia, cutting trees and selling wood, managing to come home only infrequently to see his family.[2]

Dilgam Asgarov's mother was buried in the village of Shaplar in the Kalbajar district, which was occupied by Armenian forces in 1993. Asgarov reportedly first crossed the Line of Contact in 1999 to visit his mother's grave. He told Azerbaijani media about his trip a few years later and went to Kalbajar several more times before his capture in 2014. Asgarov took videos and photos during his trips. On at least one occasion in 2007, he was accompanied to Kalbajar by Shahbaz Guliyev. In a video made by Asgarov during his 2007 trip to Kalbajar, he and Guliyev can be seen armed with AK machine guns with silencers, reportedly the same ones confiscated from them after their capture by Artsakh authorities in 2014.[3]

Hasan Hasanov was born in 1978 in the Mehdili village of the Jabrayil District, previously located on the Line of Contact. According to his brother, Nayil Hasanov, he worked as a shopkeeper and taxi driver in Baku.[10] According to Hasanov's social media profiles, he was a graduate of Jamshid Nakhchivanski Military Lyceum and Azerbaijan Higher Military Academy, which would suggest he holds an officer's rank in Azerbaijan's military.[3]

July 2014 incident
One of the people, Hasan Hasanov, who died in the initial incident.

On June 29, 2014, Dilgam Asgarov, Shahbaz Guliyev, and Hasan Hasanov crossed the Nagorno-Karabakh Line of Contact into the Kalbajar District. In a video dated to July 2 shot by Asgarov, the three men are seen preparing food together somewhere in Kalbajar District. Asgarov states in the video that they have come to teach Hasanov about the area and calls on Azerbaijani soliders not to be afraid to cross into Kalbajar. In another video, they are seen bearing machine guns near an Armenian sign pointing towards Kalbajar.[3]

On the night of July 3-4, 17-year-old Smbat Tsakanyan went missing from his family's farmhouse located 20-25 kilometers from Kalbajar town. His family and other locals began searching for him, but did not initially suspect that he was kidnapped.[3] In a video presented at Asgarov and Guliyev's trial, Tsakanyan and two other Azerbaijanis were apparently seen walking through a forest in Kalbajar. According to the Armenian authorities, Asgarov, who allegedly shot the video, can be heard saying that they had captured a "piglet", adding that he was about 20 years old and couldn't speak Azerbaijani, and that they could not release him because he would denounce them. During his trial, Asgarov commented on the footage saying that he and the others only asked Tsakanyan to show them the way to Kalbajar town, and that they did not kidnap him.[11]

On July 8 reports emerged in Armenia and Artsakh of two Azerbaijanis spotted near Kalbajar. A search was initiated, and Guliyev was detained that day, while Asgarov fled and was captured by July 11. At some point, Hasanov was separated from Asgarov and on July 11, he allegedly attacked Major Sargis Abrahamyan and Karine Davtyan on the road from Vardenis to Kalbajar, killing Abrahamyan and wounding Davtyan before taking their car. According to the Armenian authorities, Hasanov drove the vehicle about 7 kilometers before being stopped by servicemen of Artsakh Defence Army, after which he was killed in a firefight. Smbat Tsakanyan's body was found on July 15 in a forested area between Kalbajar and Sinigkilsa; the Armenian authorities determined the cause of his death to be multiple gunshot wounds.[3]

Hasanov's body was handed over to Azerbaijan in October 2014 and buried in Baku.[12] The Armenian authorities claim the three were performing reconnaissance operations in the area "on orders from Azerbaijan’s intelligence service," then kidnapped and killed the 17-year-old Smbat Tsakanyan.[13] The incident may have been one cause of the 2014 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes in late July and early August that year.[3]

Torture

Asgarov, during an interview in 2020, stated that he was subjected to "immeasurable torture" during his imprisonment. According to Asgarov, the torture he was subjected to was more cruel in the earlier days, and the Armenian captors constantly abused his body, as well as his hands and nails. He also added that he was poorly fed throughout the years.[9] When Asgarov first appeared in court in 2014, he was blindfolded, but walking normally. At a second appearance, he was seen in video footage limping, which the Azerbaijani authrotiries considered an evidence of mistreatment. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Asgarov stated that the Armenians broke his fingers and electrocuted him, adding that he was "immobilised from the heavy blows" to his head and that the Armenians didn’t even allow him to "breathe normally".[2]

Trial and return

Asgarov and Guliyev were tried in Stepanakert, capital of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh. In October 2014, they were charged with illegal border crossing, illegal arms possession, espionage, kidnapping, and the murder of Smbat Tsakanyan.[6][14] Asgarov and Guliyev both pleaded not guilty to the murder charge and accused each other during the trial. Asgarov stated during the trial that he unsuccessfully tried to convince his companions not to kill Tsakanyan; Guliyev dismissed Asgarov's claims as lies.[11] The prosecution asserted that Tsakanyan was killed with an assault rifle confiscated from Asgarov.[15] In interviews given after his release from imprisonment in 2020, Asgarov stated that he did not know about Tsakanyan's death, and that the Armenians who were killed during the July 2014 incident were killed by Armenian forces.[2][9]

On December 29, 2014, "The Stepanakert Residence of the General Jurisdiction Court of First Instance of Nagorno Karabakh Republic", sentenced Asgarov to life in prison and Guliyev to 22 years in prison (only Asgarov was convicted of Tsakanyan's murder).[16][17][18][19] Asgarov and Guliyev appealed their sentence in January 2015. Their appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court of Artsakh in May that year.[20] Azerbaijani authorities condemned the trial as illegal and demanded the release of the two men.[15] A number of members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe signed a statement calling for both to be freed pending a trial by an internationally recognized court.[21]

During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, there were reports that they were taken to Armenia,[8] which Asgarov confirmed later on.[9] After the ceasefire agreement ending the war, as a result of negotiations with the participation of international organizations and the Russian Peacekeeping Command, Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to exchange prisoners and hostages. Dilgam Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev were returned to Azerbaijan on 14 December.[8] According to the president of the unrecognized Republic of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan, the decision to return Asgarov and Guliyev was made with the consent of the parents of Smbat Tsakanyan.[22]

References
  1. PACE - Document 13709 (2015) - Ensuring the right of Dilgam Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev to a fair trial
  2. Kazimov, Seymur (5 January 2021). "Azerbaijani prisoner released by Armenia alleges torture". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 5 January 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  3. Sanamyan, Emil (13 August 2014). "Uncovering the Mystery of the Kelbajar Murders". civilnet.am. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  4. "ՊՆ. «Գործ ունենք հանցավոր խմբի հետ»" [Defense Ministry: We are dealing with a criminal group]. hetq.am (in Armenian). 14 July 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  5. "Əsirlikdə olan Dilqəm Əsgərovdan məktub: "Ürəyimdə, başımda və sağ ayağımda şiddətli ağrılar var"". Kanal13 (in Azerbaijani). 3 February 2017. Archived from the original on 5 January 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  6. "Դատարանը հրապարակեց ամբաստանյալներ Գուլիևի եւ Ասկերովի գործով դատավճիռը" [The court published the verdict for the case of defendants Guliyev and Askerov]. artsakhpress.am (in Armenian). Stepanakert. 29 December 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  7. PACE - Document 13709 (2015) - Ensuring the right of Dilgam Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev to a fair trial
  8. "Şahbaz Quliyev və Dilqəm Əsgərov Bakıdadırlar". BBC Azerbaijani Service (in Azerbaijani). 14 December 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  9. ""Yerevan erməniləri tərəfindən mənə işgəncə verildi. Qarabağdan olanlar toxunmadı"". Virtual.az (in Azerbaijani). Archived from the original on 1 January 2020.
  10. "Դիվերսանտի դիմագիծ. Հասան Հասանով-1" [A picture of a saboteur: Hasan Hasanov-1]. hetq.am (in Armenian). 16 December 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  11. Hovhannes, Shoghikian (20 November 2014). "Azeri Detainees Accuse Each Other In Karabakh Trial". Azatutyun. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  12. Ishkhanyan, Hovhannes (29 December 2014). "Բաքվում հուղարկավորել են Քարվաճառում սպանված դիվերսանտին. АПА" [Saboteur killed in Karvachar buried in Baku]. aravot.am (in Armenian). Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  13. https://a1plus.am/en/article/103255
  14. "Ադրբեջանցի դիվերսանտների գործն ուղարկվել է դատարան" [The case of the Azerbaijani saboteurs has been sent to court]. aravot.am. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  15. Harutiunian, Lilit (29 December 2014). "Azeris Sentenced In Karabakh". Azatutyun. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  16. http://www.azpenalreform.az/en/news/intheword/3334-the-russian-side-will-be-engaged-with-issue-of-dilgam-askerov.html
  17. "Red Cross representatives visit Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilgam Askerov". news.am.
  18. "Dilgam Askerov refused to ask for pardon from armenian separatists". 1 March 2016.
  19. http://www.azembassy.at/files/osce/AZE%20statement_PC%201049_situation%20in%20occupied%20territories%20of%20Azerbaijan.pdf
  20. Harutyunyan, Ara (27 May 2015). "Ղարաբաղի Գերագույն դատարանը մերժեց Ասկերովի և Գուլիևի գործով վճռաբեկ բողոքը" [Karabakh's Supreme Court rejected the appeal in Askerov and Guliyev's case]. Azatutyun (in Armenian). Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  21. PACE - Document 13709 (2015) - Ensuring the right of Dilgam Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev to a fair trial
  22. "Դիլհամ Ասկերովի և Շահբազ Գուլիևի արտահանձնման որոշումն ընդունվել է Սմբատ Ցականյանի ծնողների համաձայնությունը ստանալուց հետո. Արայիկ Հարությունյան" [Arayik Harutyunyan: The decision to hand over Dilham Askerov and Shahbaz Guliyev was made after receiving the consent of Smbat Tsakanyan's parents]. aravot.am (in Armenian). 15 December 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
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