“GEGHARD”
SCIENTIFIC ANALYTICAL
FOUNDATION
2024
2024
In summer 2014, an Azerbaijani subversive group consisted of Dilgam Asgerov, Shahbaz Guliyev, and Hasan Hasanov infiltrated Karvachar in Artsakh. They killed 17-year-old Smbat Tsakanyan and 42-year-old Major Sargis Abrahamyan, injuring his wife Karine Davtyan. Hasanov died resisting arrest. Asgerov received a life sentence, while Guliyev was imprisoned for 22 years.
Following their capture, Azerbaijan fabricated a story claiming the men, Dilgam Asgerov and Shahbaz Guliyev, were merely "visiting their grandfathers' graves in Karvachar" when apprehended by Armenian forces. This myth was shattered in May 2022 when, after their release in a 2020 prisoner exchange, Guliyev himself confessed to Xural TV that he was sent to Karvachar on the orders of the then-Deputy Prime Minister chairman of the "Committee of Refugees", Ali Hasanov.
"We went to Kelbajar (Karvachar) from Ali Hasanov's office. They gave me a weapon, a grenade. Before that, I had a wonderful life, I lived like a khan. They called me, saying 'the state needs you,' and sent me. They wanted me to go alone, but I said Dilgam knows those places well. At that time, Dilgam was caught by the police in Shamkir and was in jail. He was brought along to accompany me. Hasan Hasanov also came with us," he said.
Guliyev further claimed that, since 1992, they had conducted regular sabotage operations in Armenian-controlled areas, all with the knowledge of Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defense. After these sensational statements of Guliyev, Ali Hasanov immediately denied his involvement in the organization of the sabotage.
"Call Dilgam Asgerov, ask him, he will say: I do not know a person named Shahbaz, I have never seen his face. I have nothing to do with him," Hasanov stated.
The truth is that Hasanov, who claims not to know Shahbaz Guliyev, was himself involved in the efforts to return Guliyev and Asgerov to Azerbaijan. Moreover, after returning to the country, Asgerov met with Hasanov. Their contacts continued, and as a result, Asgerov quickly responded to Hasanov's call, accusing Shahbaz Guliyev of being a spy for the Armenians and calling Hasanov a "patriotic and decent man." "Does Ali Hasanov have a weapon, a grenade? Weapons: assault rifle, grenade, rifle, are mine. I can prove to Azerbaijani journalists where I got them from. I have facts," Asgerov defended Hasanov in a video message.
Moreover, this is not the first statement by Asgerov targeting Guliyev. These two criminals have started accusing each other, offering different versions regarding the death of the third criminal, Hasan Hasanov. Asgerov even announced that Shahbaz Guliyev intended to kill Hasanov. "I have been to Karabakh 20 times. I took Shahbaz once; he deceived us and he killed Hasan," Asgerov said during the interview, admitting that he has carried out sabotage many times.
In this regard, Kurdoglu Asgerov, the son of Dilgam Asgerov, also presented details in one of the interviews, stating: "He went to Karabakh with our friend Rafi in 1999. In 2005, he took Shahbaz Guliyev to Karabakh once. In June 2007, he went alone to our occupied territories. In September of the same year, he took two people with him. They returned safely from that visit. In 2009-2010, they went too. In 2010, Mubariz Ibrahimov was martyred. My father went to occupied Karabakh in two groups. One group was led by my father, the other by martyr Farid Ahmedov[1]. Their goal was to bring a live person to exchange for Mubariz Ibrahimov's dead body. It's a pity that Farid Ahmedov's group was surrounded. The group led by my father returned safely. In 2014, he was captured while leaving. Shahbaz was the first to be caught, and he told everything; he said that Dilgam Asgerov and Hasan Hasanov were also there."
After returning to Azerbaijan, the criminals began making excuses for the failure of their sabotage, blaming one another and revealing the truth in the process. Additionally, the saboteurs have repeatedly complained that the money they received does not meet their needs. In this context, Shahbaz Guliyev also held a protest. "I have a lot of debts; I can't pay them because I have no income from anywhere," complained Guliyev, who has unsuccessfully sought recognition from the state as a veteran and disabled.
Deprived of state support, Guliyev revealed secrets that Baku had stubbornly kept hidden. As a result, both Guliyev and Asgerov have become major headaches for the Azerbaijani authorities. It would be more beneficial for Azerbaijan if they were dead; this would allow the government to create narratives of victimhood and heroism. Instead, they remain living and unwanted witnesses to Baku's policy of killing Armenians.
[1] Mubariz Gurbanli and Farid Ahmadov, mentioned in Asgerov's speech, were also saboteurs neutralized by Armenian forces and were glorified in Baku. Mubariz Gurbanli was further honored with the title of National Hero, and a number of legends were woven around his image, while Ahmedov was awarded a 'medal of bravery