Before 25 February 1992 I lived in Khojaly with my family – my wife Iltima Mohterem Karimova, son Algayit, and daughters Aynura, Aygun and Yegana.
Over the night from 25 to 26 February 1992 Khojaly was seized. That moment I was on duty standing with machine gun near the railway. I did not see my family when I returned home. I went in the direction of the Gargar River, near which I saw my family and about 20-25 inhabitants of the town, mainly women and children. At that moment the Armenians surrounded us and opened the fire. I fired as well, but as the barrel of the machine gun had been overheated and smashed to pieces I threw it to the river. The Armenians wounded me in my right thigh and captured us. They were bearded, I didn’t know their names, and among them were several Russians. Cruelly beating us with barrels of machine guns and pieces of wood they made us go on foot and gathered in the shop in Khojaly. They also brought others there. There were about 30 people. I remember Huseyn Sariyev, Hasan Hasanov, Alasgar, Shargiyya, and her daughters Alima and Irada.
On 26 February 1992, they put us in the bus and brought to the school for dumb in Khankendi. We were terribly tortured by the Armenians, whose names I didn’t know. One Armenian tore my forehead by beating with a barrel of the machine gun. They undressed Irada, 24-years-old daughter of Shargiyya, raped her and began to beat. The Armenians also raped my wife Iltima Karimova, cut her long hair to make her look ugly. As the Armenians struck my 6 and 7-years-old children against the concrete floor, they still suffer from headaches.
Then the Armenians separated me from the women, threw to the cellar and subjected to terrible tortures. My left four ribs were fractured as a result of blows. One Armenian thrust a knife into my left shoulder and pulled it out of my bosom, fired a piece of paper and burned my hair and then threw me back to the cell. There I saw my wife, children and other men and women bleeding and moaning.
On 5 March 1992, they separated me from my family, and along with Huseyn and Elbrus brought to the Khankendi police isolator. Here we were beaten by Agajanyan, the head of the Askeran Police Department. Before our eyes they killed the son of Khojaly inhabitant Mammadali. A week later they brought other inhabitants of Khojaly Ganahat, Alif Hajiyev’s father Latif Mammadov, Gayim, Gadim, Kamil Huseynov, Abulfat, Ali and his son Nabi. They tortured us there too.
On 16 April 1992, they brought me and Kamil to the place called Khanbagi in Khankendi, where the Armenians along with the Russian soldiers were beating, humiliating and torturing us for 5 days.
On 20 April 1992 they brought us to Yerevan, and after that to Goris and Megri. There they kept us in the cellar where we were regularly beaten and abused.
On 24 July 1992 they brought me and Kamil Huseynov to the Gubadly district and released us. They exchanged my family members in May.
Because of the injuries I received during the captivity, I have a very bad sight and now undergo medical treatment at the Institute of Eye Diseases. Besides all my property was steeled by the Armenians.