‘Azerbaijanis twisted my father’s arms, took him away and started beating’: Artsakh exodus #16

On September 26, Eduard Gasparyan, the father of Gayane Gasparyan, who was forcibly displaced from Artsakh, was beaten by Azerbaijanis at a checkpoint near the Hakari Bridge and forced to admit his “guilt” in front of the cameras. The 56-year-old man was a participant in the First Artsakh War. The Azerbaijanis accused him of the so-called Khojaly pogroms.

“On the way to the Hakari Bridge, the Azerbaijanis behaved calmly, but when we got to the checkpoint located near the bridge, they demanded my father’s documents and said that he should get out of the car and take a photo in front of the camera. Immediately after taking the photo, they twisted his arms, took him to their place and started beating him. They accused my father of terrorism and forced him to give the interview the way they wanted; otherwise, they threatened to stab or kill him.

My father was a participant in the First Artsakh War, but he did not take part in the massacre in Ivanyan (Khojaly). They forced my father to say ‘Khankendi’ instead of Stepanakert and say that he would return because it was good to live with the Azerbaijanis. About an hour later, my father was released,” Gayane Gasparyan told Alpha News.

Gayane, 30, worked at the Republican Medical Center of Stepanakert as an X-ray lab assistant.

She told about the last days spent in her homeland, the disastrous situation in the Republican Medical Center of Stepanakert, and the forced exodus from Artsakh.